Hyderabad: The govt may have promised action, but auto unions say they have heard enough assurances. Hours after meeting ministers on Monday, the auto and app-based workers’ JAC said it was left with little clarity on when its key demands would be implemented and warned of a fresh statewide agitation.The sharpest discontent was over the proposed welfare board. Ravi Shankar of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) and Arla Sattireddy of Telangana Auto Drivers Samakhya (TADS) said the govt had earlier indicated that a GO would be issued and the board’s modalities finalised. Instead, they said they were now being told that the matter would have to be taken up in the assembly.“The position keeps changing. We were expecting the GO and a discussion on the modalities, but there was not even an opportunity to submit our representation,” Ravi Shankar said.The unions were equally unhappy with the response on auto fares. V Marayya of BRTU said the govt had once again left the issue to discussions with officials without specifying when revised fares would come into force. The promised annual assistance of ₹12,000 to drivers was another sore point, with the union leader questioning the govt’s claim that funds were unavailable.With no clear timeline on several demands, G Mukesh Goud of the JAC said drivers were preparing to return to the protest route. “If the govt continues to delay action on these issues, auto drivers across Telangana will have to come together for a fresh agitation,” he said.The frustration was not confined to auto drivers. App-based cab unions said they had been waiting nearly two and a half years for a resolution to their concerns. Satish and Sridhar Reddy of the cab JAC said the govt’s assurance of holding discussions with the aggregator committee was yet another step that could prolong the wait.The cab JAC leaders said they would hold a separate meeting shortly to decide their next course of action and could call for a statewide protest.The reactions came after ministers met representatives of the JAC at the secretariat, where the govt reiterated that it would address issues relating to the welfare board, fares, permits, aggregator regulations and other demands.
