MUMBAI: An autorickshaw driver was allegedly assaulted by another auto driver who was part of a group protesting against the use of Marathi on Monday, police said.The incident took place on MG Road in Kandivali West when the victim was plying his autorickshaw, police said.Kandivali police are in the process of registering an FIR in connection with the assault.The incident came amid protests by a section of autorickshaw and taxi drivers in parts of Mumbai against the Maharashtra government’s Marathi proficiency drive.According to PTI, demonstrations were reported in Kandivali, Malad West, Santacruz, Dahisar, Andheri and other locations.At Laljipada in Kandivali West, drivers staged a roadblock during the morning rush hour around 9am. Police reached the spot and dispersed the protesters.Some protesters allegedly stopped other autorickshaw and taxi drivers, including app-based cab drivers, from ferrying passengers and forced some passengers to deboard. Drivers also complained that protesters tried to damage their vehicles.A leader of an auto-rickshaw and taxi union said panic among some drivers who were unable to speak Marathi had led to the protests.He said no union had called for a strike or agitation and that the situation had normalised by the second half of the day.The Maharashtra Transport Department launched a statewide drive on August 20 to check the working knowledge of Marathi among commercial passenger vehicle drivers.A senior regional transport official at the Borivali RTO said misinformation had spread among drivers that they would be fined Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 for not knowing Marathi.On August 20, RTOs issued notices to 1,268 commercial passenger vehicle drivers, mainly autorickshaw and taxi drivers, for lacking adequate knowledge of Marathi.A day later, notices were issued to 1,499 non-Marathi-speaking drivers across Maharashtra.
