Cabbies threaten to jam DND if not allowed to ply in Delhi till permit lasts

NOIDA: Drivers of petrol and diesel taxis with All India Tourist Permit (AITP) on Wednesday threatened to hold traffic at the DND Flyway again if they are not allowed to ply in Delhi-NCR till their permits expire.
Over 50 cab drivers who were earlier ferrying passengers for app-based companies like Ola and Uber and are also AITP holders, said that they will wait for the Delhi government’s action-plan to be filed on Thursday.
The Delhi government had on Tuesday proposed to replace the diesel taxis with CNG ones in a “phased manner” and will present an action plan before the Environment Pollution Control Authority appointed by the apex court on Thursday.
“We will wait for the government to file its action plan. If it is feasible and favourable, we will discuss our course of action accordingly,” Manmohan Chauhan, a diesel taxi driver owner, said.
There is no technology to convert a diesel vehicle to CNG. “Converting means you replace your engine entirely which is very costly,” he said, adding that they were ready to convert on the condition that they are allowed to ply in Delhi-NCR till their permit lasts.
Further, the drivers claimed that their livelihood is at stake, alleging that the app based cab aggregators have replaced them with cabbies who own CNG-run cabs.