Mumbai Auto, Cab Drivers Protest Marathi Language Drive

Common people in parts of Mumbai on Monday bore the brunt of alleged hooliganism by some autorickshaw and taxi drivers who protested against the state government's Marathi proficiency drive and tried to stop other members of the fraternity from transporting passengers.

Some videos circulating on social media showed demonstrations being organised in suburban Kandivali, Malad (West), Santacruz, Dahisar, Andheri and a few other locations.

At Laljipada in Kandivali (West), drivers staged a rasta-roko during the rush hour around 9 am. A team of police personnel



reached the spot and dispersed the protesters, normalising the situation within some time. 

A group allegedly stopped other autorickshaw and taxi drivers, including those operating app-based cabs, from ferrying passengers. 

They allegedly forced some drivers to make passengers deboard vehicles. Some drivers also complained that the protesters tried to damage their vehicles.

"Rickshaw drivers are forming groups, forcibly removing passengers from rickshaws! Oshiwara Mega Mall," Arvind Rao, an X user, wrote on the microblogging site.