Fair protest

Delhi's lone woman autorickshaw driver Sunita Chaudhary ferried passengers for free as a way of protest

Fair protest

Delhi's lone woman autorickshaw driver Sunita Chaudhary ferried passengers for free as a way of protest

Striking auto drivers should learn a lesson from her. Even as her colleagues sat idle, the Capital's lone female autorickshaw driver, Sunita Chaudhary, ferried passengers around the city for two days free of cost.u00a0u00a0u00a0

Strike duty: Sunita Chaudhary giving free rides to passengers in New Delhi on Tuesday. PIC/RAJEEV TYAGI

"Our fight is against the government. Why should we harass the commuters? I am also a part of the agitation but my way of protesting is different," said Chaudhary.

Thirty-year-old Chaudhary doesn't even remember the number of kilometres she covered in the last two days. "I have driven all across the city. Yesterday I reached home at 1 am and started off at 7 am," she said, addingu00a0 " I empathize with the demands of my community but we should take it up with the government."

Members of striking auto unions forcefully stopped the few autos that were plying on Tuesday and also thrashed the drivers.u00a0 "I was stopped today in the Vasant Kunj area. But somehow I convinced them I was with them but just that my way of agitation was different," said Chaudhary.

Chaudhary, a National Panthers Party candidate from the Anand Vihar area for the councilor bye-elections, did not even canvass in the area. "I thought my purpose would get solved with the free service I was offering during the strike," she added.

Commuters love her too
Commuters running here and there in search of autos heaved a sigh of relief as they saw Chaudhary's vehicle. "I was looking for an auto for one hour. Fortunately, I boarded Chaudhary's auto from Connaught Place. It is a noble way to protest. Other auto drivers should learn from her," said Ujjwal Kumar, a commuter who works with a private firm in the Naraina area.

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