Hours after drivers of Ola and Uber staged a snap protest at the Devanahalli toll plaza, around 500 drivers gathered at Freedom Park in the city and protested against both the cab aggregators and the Transport Department.
“The companies have been asking us to co-operate with them… but how much longer must we operate like this?” questioned Tanveer, a taxi driver, who spoke at the gathering.
H.P. Kumar, secretary of the Karnataka State Vehicle Drivers’ Central Committee, said the innocent drivers were caught in the fight between the cab aggregators and the Transport Department. “We have even approached the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission asking them to step in and ensure that our drivers are not harassed,” he said.
Meanwhile, Transport Commissioner Rame Gowda ruled out the possibility of stopping enforcement. “We are enforcing the law and there is no question of stopping this,” he said.
Earlier in the day, taxi drivers operating for aggregators Ola and Uber staged a snap protest at the Devanahalli toll plaza at Chikkajala against the Transport Department’s efforts to stop these cabs which have been plying illegally without a license.
People reaching the city from the Kempegowda International Airport on Tuesday morning witnessed huge traffic jams at the Devanahalli toll plaza. The traffic jam, which according to some sources stretched for nearly five km from the toll plaza into the city, was reportedly cleared by 10 a.m. by the police.
R. Hithendra, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), said the snap protest against action by Transport Department by cab drivers created a road block from airport towards the city for over 45 minutes. He stressed that there was no disturbance for traffic moving towards the airport and added that jam had been cleared in less than an hour.
Drivers of the two cab aggregators claimed that the officials of the Regional Transport Office initially blocked the Ola and Uber zones at the airport. This, they claimed, led to the enforcement at the Devanahalli toll plaza.
Representatives of taxi driver unions demanded a meeting with Transport Commissioner Rame Gowda and appraised him of the situation. “We had asked them for some time to implement the rules but they are continuing enforcement, we will take to the roads and protest if this continues,” said Pradeep N, President, Jai Bharath Vehicle Owners' and Drivers' Association.
