Taxis and autorickshaws would keep off the roads in Kerala from midnight tonight demanding an upward revision of fares in view of the hike in the price of petrol and diesel. The indefinite strike was called by Auto Transport Workers Federation comprising unions of all political parties,after the talks they had with Transport Minister Jose Thettayil failed to reach an agreement. The Federation had given notice for the strike one month back and the government had set up a committee headed by Justice N Ramachandran to recommend new fare structure for autorickshaws and taxis. Thettayil asked the Federation to wait till the committee submitted its report,but the Federation was adamant in its stand and wanted at least an interim revision till the final recommendation was made. The talks failed as the minister turned down the suggestion,Federation leaders said,while the minister said it would not be proper to announce an interim hike when the committee was already seriously studying the issue.
