MARGAO
Maintaining that their business has hit a low during the seven months of Covid-19 pandemic, auto-rickshaw drivers are anxiously looking forward to the government to unveil a bailout package for them.
They lamented that though the auto-rickshaw drivers have been demanding financial relief from the government during the pandemic period, no relief package has been forthcoming to date.
An auto-rickshaw driver, Javed Khan, who is a member of the Kranti Auto Rickshaw Association operating from the KTC bus stand area, said life has not remained the same since Covid raised its ugly head in March.
He said while the rickshaw drivers had to all park their three-wheelers at home during the lockdown, the easing of restrictions have not in any way brought cheers to them.
He pointed out that while the rickshaw drivers operate at the KTC bus stand area in rotation, they find it hard to even get two trips a day, leaving them without a decent earning.
“Our pleas for a bailout package have not found favour with the government. It has now become difficult even to get two customers or trips. We are helpless,” he said.
Another rickshaw driver pointed out that the government in 2018 had promised financial assistance to traditional occupations and businesses such as pilots, but the same is yet to reach the rickshaw drivers like them.
