MUMBAI: A section of autorickshaw drivers in Mumbai on Monday staged protests and began a three-day strike against the Marathi language requirement for auto-rickshaw, taxi and cab drivers, with non-Marathi-speaking drivers saying the directive would put an additional financial burden on them.Drivers staged a roadblock on Kandivli Link Road, opposing what they described as a mandatory requirement to know Marathi. Protesters said many older drivers had little or no formal education and were struggling to meet the language requirement.“We are 55-60-year-olds. We have never been to a school. How can we speak Marathi? Had we been educated, we would have been sitting in an office,” one driver said.The driver said several protesters were trying to learn and speak “broken Marathi” but claimed they were being penalised instead of being given time to comply.“Can we pay Rs 15,000-20,000 as fine? We will do this three-day strike until justice is done,” he said.
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The protest comes amid growing opposition among a section of transport workers to the language directive, with drivers demanding that authorities reconsider the requirement and penalties linked to it.
