As many as 67 taxis have been impounded by the police department on the directions of the Election Commission. The commandeered vehicles will be used for election purposes and have been parked in the Central College grounds here.
Assistant Sub-Inspector S. Nagaraj told The Hindu that yellow board vehicles plying without passengers have been taken over and would be used for election purposes.
Meanwhile, cab drivers were angry with the seizure of their vehicles. Many claim that they were not provided with food on time and that they were forcibly deputed on election duty.
ADVERTISEMENT
Manu, a driver whose vehicle has been impounded, claimed that he did not know the terms of seizure and the procedure for payment. After being stopped on the road, he said he was asked to go to Central College, where he was forced to sign on a paper by the police. Meanwhile, regional transport officials have also started impounding taxis across Bangalore and elsewhere in the State to provide them for personnel on election duty.
“This measure has been taken after exhausting all the available government vehicles,” said a transport department official.
The requirement of number of vehicles, including buses and cars, is more this time as the election is being conducted in one phase and there has been a steep increase in the number of officials on election duty.
ADVERTISEMENT