Auto-rickshaw drivers in Tamil Nadu's capital, Chennai, requested the state government to allow them to resume plying of vehicles on the road as they are facing hardships due to the continued prohibition even during the fourth phase of COVID-19 induced lockdown.
Relaxing the COVID-19 lockdown norms, the Tamil Nadu government had on Friday allowed plying of autos and cycle rikshaws from May 23, with only one passenger on board from 7 am to 7 pm. The directive, however, did not apply to Chennai and other containment zones.
Arjunana, an auto driver, narrating his sufferings to said that most of the people in his line were suffering due to a lack of any alternate source of income during the past two months.
"We cannot find any other source of income than plying autos, we have been struggling to make ends meet for the past two months. Moreover, this decision of not allowing autos to ply in Chennai, while it is allowed in other districts has impacted us further," Arjunana said.
"We request the Chief Minister to allow autos to ply on roads as it is difficult to sustain now without money," he added.
Sakthivel, another auto driver, agreed with the former and also urged the state government to reconsider its decision.
710 new COVID-19 cases and 5 deaths were reported in Tamil Nadu on Saturday, taking the total number of positive cases in the state to 15,512, according to the State Health Department.
( With inputs from ANI )