The demand is to categorise cab aggregator services as "taxis" and have taxi permits for them too as it is issued for the usual Cool Cab and "Kaali-Peeli".
The newly formed Jai Bhagwan Taxi Rickshaw Driver-Owner Association's protest rally against cab aggregators on Tuesday turned violent at Azad Maidan damaging vehicles in south Mumbai. They have also threatened indefinite strike from July 26, if their demand is not met with. Passengers too were inconvenienced due to the rally resulting in lesser taxis on roads.
The grouse of the auto rickshaw and taxi drivers as well as owners is the cab aggregators like Ola and Uber providing services at rates much lesser than theirs. While addressing the gathering, Union's president Bala Sanap said: "We feel that there is conspiracy to wipe out our taxis and rickshaws from the roads." As the government is not acting to rein in the can aggregators on the grounds of taxi permit and pricing.
The demand is to categorise cab aggregator services as "taxis" and have taxi permits for them too as it is issued for the usual Cool Cab and "Kaali-Peeli".
The state had proposed a new taxi scheme in October to bring such operators under the ambit of taxis, but there has been opposition from the private players. It has been eight months, since a draft of the scheme was made public, but no decision has been taken by the state government on the subject.
The newly formed union's leader also asked for an inquiry to check how is it possible to provide hiring services for a throwaway price. If this demand is not met with, an indefinite strike of autorickshaws and taxis is possible in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai from July 26 onwards.
But pressing for this demand, the participants resorted to violence by vandalising vehicles present on the road. The Azad Maidan police station arrested seven people, all participants of the protest rally. "The accused have been charged for rioting, unlawful assembly, armed with dangerous weapon, voluntarily causing hurt by a weapon and other such relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. The accused persons are under remand and our investigation is on," said senior inspector of Azad Maidan police station Vijay Kadam.
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