Hundreds of autorickshaw drivers here clashed with police, blocked roads, and targeted public vehicles Wednesday as they carried out violent protests against the alleged anomaly over supply of CNG at a filling station in the city, officials said.
Police had to baton charge the protesting drivers near the CNG filling station in Nadarganj locality, where the protesting drivers indulged in violence and pelted stones at the police. However, no one was seriously injured in the incident, officials added.
"It all started with an argument between CNG-driven auto-rickshaw drivers and employees of the CNG filling station. The drivers alleged that despite charging full money from them, the employees were not filling the required amount of the gas," Superintendent of Police (East) Harish Kumar told reporters.
"The argument snowballed into a clash between drivers and the filling station employees. The drivers went berserk and during their protests they blocked roads and even smashed windowpanes of several public vehicles," he added.
Taking into account the protests by the drivers, additional security has been deployed in the area, police said.
"The situation is tense, but under control," Kumar said.