This story is from July 27, 2016

Thousands stranded at railway stations, airport

It was a harrowing experience for Abhilasha Singh to travel the 12 kilometres from New Delhi railway station to Hauz Khas on Tuesday. In comparison, her train journey of 800 kilometres from Varanasi to the national capital was a cakewalk.
Thousands stranded at railway stations, airport
It was a harrowing experience for Abhilasha Singh to travel the 12 kilometres from New Delhi railway station to Hauz Khas on Tuesday. In comparison, her train journey of 800 kilometres from Varanasi to the national capital was a cakewalk.

New Delhi: It was a harrowing experience for Abhilasha Singh to travel the 12 kilometres from New Delhi railway station to Hauz Khas on Tuesday. In comparison, her train journey of 800 kilometres from Varanasi to the national capital was a cakewalk.
The student, who has taken admission in NIFT Delhi, and her parents came to know of the autorickshaw and taxi strike only after they stepped out of the railway station.
After an hour of frantically searching for a taxi, they finally decided on taking the Delhi Metro.
“Around 12.30pm, when we arrived from Varanasi, we found the prepaid taxi booth shut with a notice of the strike pasted outside. My father then went outside to hunt for a cab but had to return empty handed,” Singh said.
However, Singh was not the only one braving the problem. Several passengers, who were unaware of the strike, were stranded at all railway stations and IGI Airport. Their only respite was travelling in app-based cabs, but booking them was also an arduous task.
Another family, which had arrived by Manduadih-Delhi Express, said they booked an Ola cab, but it took longer than expected to turn up. “We came to know that the auto unions are not allowing app-based cabs to enter the station premises. I’m stuck as I can’t go outside with my family and luggage to look for a taxi,” said Abhay Mishra, who is preparing for competitive exams.

Meanwhile, auto union members threatened that the strike may continue on Wednesday as well if their demands are not heard.
At railway stations, all Ola and Uber cabs were stopped and their keys and meters confiscated by the auto union members. Prem Jeet Singh, secretary of All Delhi Taxi Union, said, “We did not resort to violence. We kept the keys with us for some time and then allowed them to go.” The unions stopped operation of around 1,500 taxis at IGI airport T3 and about 900 at Terminal 1D. Mintu Singh, president of the taxi union at the international terminal, alleged that app-based cabs charge lesser than the Rs 12 per kilometre mandated by the government to attract more customers.
“They don’t need to worry about the fares as they are also paid by the app firm. However, this adversely affects autorickshaw and kaali-peeli taxi drivers. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had promised us action against these services, has betrayed us after taking out votes,” Mintu Singh said.
Most flyers had either called up their relatives to pick them up after reading about the strike or booked app-based cabs. “I had to stand in queue for about 30 minutes before I could book a cab from the counter at Terminal 1D,” said Sandeep, who had flown in from Patna.
Avasna Pandey, pursuing MA (international relations) from JNU, who had landed from Kathmandu, said, “I usually take a taxi after stepping out of the airport. But today I opted for Uber and am still waiting for the cab.”
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