Financial difficulties force auto driver to end life in Telangana’s Kothagudem

Durga Prasad reportedly consumed cool drink mixed with pesticide to end his life; auto-rickshaw drivers wearing black badges take out protest rally from Yellandu Government Hospital along with his body

Kothagudem: An auto-rickshaw driver died, allegedly by suicide, in Yellandu town here.

Durga Prasad, a resident of 14-number Basthi in the town, reportedly mixed pesticide in a cool drink on Tuesday night and died during the early hours of Wednesday. He was said to have taken the extreme step due to financial difficulties and mounting debts as he could not earn enough money because of the free travel facility for women in RTC buses.

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Auto-rickshaw drivers wearing black badges took out a protest rally from Yellandu Government Hospital along with his body. Auto-rickshaw union leader Mallesh said that auto drivers were ending lives due to debts since free travel in RTC buses was introduced by the Congress government. However, the government was not paying attention to the problem. The government should come forward to support the family of the deceased Durga Prasad as well as all the auto-rickshaw drivers, he added.