Hundreds of autorickshaw owners and drivers observed a bandh and took out protest marches in various districts of Kittur Karnataka region on Monday opposing the Shakti scheme of the State government which allows women to travel free on State-run buses, saying that it has adversely affected their lives.
In Hubballi and Dharwad, a majority of autorickshaw drivers did not operate their autorickshaws on Monday in protest against the government scheme. They took out a protest march on the thoroughfares of the city and held road blockades for some time to register their protest.
The autorickshaw drivers and owners also demanded relief from the State government in the wake of the adverse impact of the government scheme on their lives. They demanded that their auto loans be waived, urged the government not to implement the Shakti scheme within a radius of 20 km of urban areas and sought free education for their children.
