Ola, Uber drivers protest demanding better pay, ban on bike taxis; commuters inconvenienced
Chennai (PTI): A large section of cab drivers of Ola and Uber went on a strike on Monday demanding fare regulation, a ban on bike taxi services that they say are eating up their revenue, and stringent action on certain toll booths functioning beyond their contract period.
The drivers staged an agitation here urging the state government to immediately intervene and regulate the app-based cab aggregators and to also resolve the issue of high commission charged by the aggregators from them.
The All India Road Transport Workers Federation and the Tamil Nadu Urimai Kural Driver Trade Union, which announced the strike has demanded a ban on bike taxi services.
The drivers have called for a massive protest in the city on October 18 to highlight their demands.
"With the interior areas of Perungudi still lacking connectivity, I usually book a cab to reach my office. Due to the strike I had to depend on an auto, after an agonising wait" says Mahesh, a commuter.
P Sridhar of Madipakkam, whose father was scheduled for an appointment at a corporate hospital in Alwarpet, says he lost all hope of ensuring a comfortable ride to the hospital. "After trying the app for nearly an hour, I had to approach the local auto and agree to the ride for a hefty sum," he said.
Though the strike has impacted commuters, the issue concerns drivers' livelihood, argues Dilshan, a cab driver who has decided not to switch on the app for the next two days.
"Those aggregators are exploiting us and have not provided us the commission we have been asking for. As regards to the bike taxi service, it is affecting our daily earnings," he said and sought to know why bike taxis in Tamil Nadu should not be banned when neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have enforced a ban.
Claiming that there were nearly 70,000 autos and over 60,000 taxis plying in Chennai, a protestor, Sakthivel, said that drivers like him have been raising these demands for a long time.
According to M Bhoopathy, General Secretary of Tamil Nadu Call Taxi Workers' Union, the Centre's guidelines on the motor vehicle aggregators issued in 2020 were not implemented in the state. "The lack of rules impacts both the drivers and commuters. Hence, a regulation would help to fix a fair fare for commuters and better remuneration for the drivers," he said.
Further, he said the taxi workers' union has been insisting upon the state government to launch its own app to provide aggregator services, ban bike taxi and fix fares for call taxis.
The cab drivers have announced a similar strike in Tiruchirappalli on October 17 and said it would follow it up with a massive protest on October 18 at Egmore here, highlighting their demands.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
