Sunday, May 8, 2011

Interaction IV: An auto driver speaks of his occupation

The term auto is(popularly) used in Bhubaneswar for a three wheeled vehicle that is the major mode of conveyance of passengers within Bhubaneswar. According to institutional norms, it can carry three passengers and the rates are fixed (except if a passenger volunteers to reserve the auto). For about three kilometers, a passenger has to pay Rs.9. The rate of diesel is around Rs.43 and an auto shows an average mileage of 30km/l. The following is an interaction with an auto driver (name: Jogi Das; age: 45) of Bhubaneshwar which I have translated from Oriya.

I was born and brought up in Bhubaneswar, though I have a paternal house at Jatni, Khorda District. My father used to have a Oriya fast food shop. Initially I worked as a helper in Bus services*.  Then with some accumulated money I bought an auto and had been driving the auto for two years. Then, due to maintenance problems, I had to sell it off. Now I drive on a contractual basis. The owner gives me the auto for the whole day and I pay him Rs.130 (whether I have earned that much or not doesn’t matter). It depends on the auto drivers to decide whether he can earn that much from the auto he  hires; rates vary from 130-200 in Bhubaneswar. It depends on where  there is more chance of earning, condition of vehicle, etc. My earnings are around Rs.150 to Rs.200 per day.
We have eighty autos in our stand. The one who reaches the stand in the morning first has to write his name in a register that is maintained by our stand. According to the numbering, when passengers come we take them. In Bhubaneswar, there is an association called auto Mahasangh, organized by Sibananda Ray and other leaders, where auto drivers and auto owners go and meet once in a month, though it is not mandatory. Under this association there are several smaller auto associations like ours dispersed over the whole of Bhubaneswar. We individually pay Rs.50 per month to the Mahasangh. The Bhubaneswar auto Mahasangh’s work is to sort out disputes between auto owners and drivers, to take care of drivers if there are any fights or accidents, etc. We go to the stand to sort out problems/fights that might have taken place amongst ourselves. Also in festive occasions, the Mahasangh’s advice is taken. There are certain rules set by the Mahasangh like drivers from other auto stands (located elsewhere in Bhubaneswar) cannot take passengers from our stands. The traffic commissioner of Bhubaneswar has a rule that every auto driver needs to have have and Identity Card, without which the auto driver will be fined Rs. 100. The Mahasangh makes it mandatory that every auto driver has his I Card with him. The driver pays the fine, not the owner.
Iif suddenly, the auto hiring rate is hiked by auto owners, the driver has to decide whether he can continue driving with the hiked price or will he have to quit driving that auto. Mahasangh doesn’t interfere in such matters. Usually we agree because if we don’t get any other auto, we’ll have to sit at home without earning.
The Mahasangh decides the rate chart on our behalf. When there are hikes in prices of oil, we go on strike under the Mahasangh that demands a re-structuring of prices for driving from one place to another in Bhubaneswar. If the strike is strong enough, the prices are hiked or else it is kept as it was. It depends on how the leaders of the Mahasangh deal with the matter and their relation with bigger leaders of Political parties. 
My interruption: You never ask for reduction in oil prices?
How can we ask for that? Once the price of something has gone up, it is useless to ask for reduction in price. It is not in our hands.
In Gandamunda, I have build a two room thatched house on Government land. See, we can’t afford private land. There are 60-70 similar houses in our region.
We do not belong to any political party but are afraid to take our autos out on the days when any party BJP, BJD or Congress calls for strike. There are hooliganisms on the road and we fear that our autos might get damaged in those.  So, we sit in our stands but do not take passengers. Except concerning autos, we never indulge in any daliya (organisational) calls for strike. Some of us might individually go for his political interests but we don’t go.
*Later he said it was a private bus. Helpers are low paid in private buses.    

1 comment:

  1. Heroic interview, C.de Satya..
    Your work down in Orissa is simply amazing!
    I'll share your post in my blog; with credits, of course.

    ReplyDelete