Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday launched a financial assistance scheme for auto and cab drivers under which registered drivers will receive Rs 15,000 annually.
In a massive outreach programme, Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, and minister Nara Lokesh reached the venue in autorickshaws, travelling almost 14 km instead of their convoys. They also donned the uniform of drivers for the event.
Naidu announced that the Andhra Pradesh government will launch a new ride-booking app, similar to Rapido and Uber, for auto drivers across the state.
The state government’s move to provide assistance to auto drivers came after it launched Stree Shakti, the free bus ride scheme for women, last month. Named the “Auto Driver Sevalo”, the scheme was launched at the Makineni Basavapunnaiah Stadium in Singhnagar in Vijayawada. Ahead of the launch auto drivers were seen dancing on the streets and local TDP MLA Krishna Reddy joined them.
Under the scheme, every auto driver or maxi cab driver with their own vehicle will receive Rs 15,000 annually. It would be a direct benefit transfer, weeding out the involvement of middlemen.
Naidu travelled in an autorickshaw along with the driver’s family, said, “ I came to this venue with the family members of the auto driver and learnt about their hardships and joy. All the roads had potholes because the previous rulers did not care about the people at all. We have repaired 23,000 km of roads in the state and made them free of potholes.”
The previous YSRCP government gave Rs 10,000 annually, which was enhanced to Rs 15,000 by the current government.
Naidu also promised to set up an auto drivers’ welfare board to protect their rights. The state government has allotted Rs 436 crore towards the auto drivers’ Sevalo scheme. The beneficiaries included 2,25,621 autorickshaw drivers, 38,576 passenger vehicle drivers, 20,072 moto cab drivers and 6400 maxi cab drivers.
Visakhapatnam topped the list with the highest number of beneficiaries – 22,955 auto drivers. Naidu suggested that the drivers must share about the work done by the coalition government with ten people and warned that if the evil forces (read YSRCP) come back, everything will be destroyed.