More than 100 auto rickshaw drivers on Monday carried out a day-long strike and staged a demonstration in front of Dhanbad Municipal Corporation protesting against collection of "illegal" parking fees and the lack of demarcated auto stops.

The protesters burnt the effigy of Dhanbad Municipal Corporation commissioner Satyendra Kumar.

The agitators have been on the boil over the beating of one of their colleagues on Sunday near the Bartand based bus depot by one of the parking agents of the corporation.

The protesters, who were also demanding an end to the practice of collection of illegal parking charges from them by allottees of the DMC parking lot on the road away far away from the parking lot threatened to intensify their strike if immediate steps are not taken to improve the situation.

Chhotan Singh, president of Jharkhand Pradesh Diesel Chalak Mahasangh said, “Everywhere in the district, illegal parking charges are being realised by the allottees outside the parking lots despite the fact we are already paying the charges designated for parking lots.”

“The problem of illegal parking charges realization is prevalent everywhere in district be it Bartand Bus depot or Bank More or Shramik Chowk,” said Singh.

Citing an example of difficulties faced by them, Sunil Rawani an autodriver said, “On every trip of journey we are being compelled to illegally pay Rs 10 at the three to four places in name of parking charges.”

Md Rashid, the auto rickshaw driver who was beaten, said “the parking lot agent yesterday caught hold of me outside the lot near the Bus depot and beaten up despite the fact that I was ready to pay the parking charge.”