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Tourists hit hard by Himachal taxi strike

Staff Correspondent

SHIMLA: Thousands of tourists travelling all over the hill state of Himachal Pradesh were put to great inconvenience on Thursday when more than 17,000 taxi operators decided to remain off the road. The taxi operators are opposing the installation of fare meters atop their cabs and a hike in road tax all over the State for a long time now. The strike would continue indefinitely in protest against the Government’s decision for mandatory fixing of meters, said Taxi Union president Madan Bansal.

Mr. Bansal accused the Government of forcing the operators to go on an indefinite strike from Friday and said any inconvenience to the locals and tourists would be due to its intransigence. The operators are also opposing the Government’s decision to raise the token (road) tax to Rs. 350 per seat from Rs. 200 for small vehicles and Rs. 750 per seat from Rs. 500 for large commercial vehicles, he said.

He said the taxi operators who were not on strike in Shimla and Dharamsala towns of the State for the past two days had decided to keep their taxis off the road for fear of being challaned for not installing meters.

Meanwhile, State Tourism Minister G. S. Bali said taxi operators who were not willing to install meters could get themselves registered with the regional transport authorities (RTOs) for plying on national routes.

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Tourists hit hard by Himachal taxi strike

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