Brakes on rush hour as cabbies protest ban

Gurgaon: A miserable Monday awaited NCR commuters, with a massive jam reported on NH-8, after around 350-400 diesel cab operators first blocked the Gurgaon-Delhi route from 8am, and then moved to the other side, to protest the Supreme Court order banning commercial diesel vehicles within NCR. The protest lasted till 1pm.
The kilometre-long snarl, though, lasted for much longer, adding to the Monday morning rush."I was ferrying a passenger from Pitampura to Huda City Center. It took me an hour to reach Dhaula Kuan, and another two-and-a-half hours from there to Gurgaon," said Surinder Pal, an Uber driver.
Massive force was deployed by Delhi and Gurgaon police to ensure the protest did not turn violent. Around 50 men from Gurgaon traffic police and a team from Udyog Vihar police station rushed to the spot after the protest was reported, but the roadblock had by then taken its toll. "Though we cleared the route as soon as possible, traffic had already slowed, and took time to normalise," said traffic inspector Anil Sharma.
Insufficient cabs and return of surge pricing made it worse. "I opted for Uber Pool from Cyber Hub to Sector 45, as today, the app showed a price of Rs 162, which is otherwise Rs 70-75," said fashion designer Apoorva Jha. Ola withheld surge pricing, though cabs were still hard to find during morning office hours.
Twitter was trending with #NH-8 and #Delhi-Gurgaon, with people venting their frustration over the jam and protest. "Another agitation, another morning wasted for office-going crowd," tweeted Shalini Baisiwala. While some blamed cab operators, others were angry at authorities.
Diesel cab operators/drivers are in distress as the SC order will leave many without a livelihood. "I brought this car on EMI so that I can make a steady living. The government is asking us to go off roads. Who then will pay my EMI," said Jai Prakash, a protester.
In December, the Supreme Court had ordered a ban on petrol and diesel commercial vehicles in NCR by March 31, but then extended the deadline to April 30.
"Around 8am, over 350 cab drivers and owners gathered at Rajokri to protest the ban on diesel vehicles and impounding of cabs. After we explained their vehicles were being impounded in Delhi not Gurgaon, they shifted the protest to the Delhi side," said Anil Sharma, traffic inspector, Gurgaon Police.
The problem is aggravated because there are no authorised centres to convert diesel cars to CNG in NCR, which is also costly. "The court has passed the order without thinking of consequences. There's no way for us to convert," said Prithvi Singh Negi, another cab owner. Negi added they would consider moving to another town, but no place offers as much business as NCR. Most NCR drivers are migrants from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.Cab operators with All India Tourist permits were also furious after their cars were impounded in Delhi.
They don't fall under the category of vehicles banned — it applies only to cabs offering point-to-point pick-up and drops within NCR, along with aggregators like Ola and Uber.In December, the Supreme Court had ordered a ban on all diesel commercial vehicles plying in the NCR by March 31, but later extended the deadline to April 30.