Decision on app-based autorickshaw services by Nov 25, K'taka govt tells HC
Bengaluru, Nov 21: The High Court of Karnataka was informed by the state government on Monday that a decision on the online app-based autorickshaw hailing services will be taken by November 25.
The government said the petitions of the service providers have been considered and a decision is pending.
The transport department had recently directed stopping of auto-hailing services as it was not covered under the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregator Rules in 2016.
The licences issued were only for cab-hailing services, the department had held. The service providers had approached the High Court which had allowed them to continue the services till the government took a decision regarding licences to be issued after speaking to all stakeholders.
The bench of Justice C M Poonacha is hearing the case. The government also requested the court not to issue orders regarding the hike in rates sought by the service providers till the decision was made by the authorities.
The rate will be decided by November 25, the court was told. The HC adjourned the hearing to November 28 after recording the submissions.
ANI Technologies Private Limited and Uber India Systems Private Limited had challenged the transport department's decision to stop autorickshaw-hailing services before the court.
On October 6, the authorities after a meeting issued an order stating autorickshaw and cab services available under the online apps violated the KODTTA rules and licence. It was held that 'taxi' service was only for cars and not autorickshaws.
The government had claimed before the court that app-based aggregators were charging more than the rates fixed by the authorities by levying surcharge.
They had not obtained licence for aggregating autorickshaws and therefore their services have been stopped.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Navi Mumbai sees 654 drug cases in 2024 compared to 475 last year; 939 persons held
Thane (PTI): Maharashtra's Navi Mumbai township has seen a rise in drug related crimes with 654 such cases being registered this year compared to 475 in 2023, a senior police official said on Thursday.
The total value of contraband seized in these cases was Rs 33.27 crore against Rs 22.97 crore last year, according the official said citing the Navi Mumbai police's annual report.
As many as 939 persons were arrested in 2024 for offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, compared to 811 last year, he said.
Among those arrested, 58 were foreign nationals, predominantly Africans, marking a rise from 37 in 2023, the official said.
The contraband seized from foreign nationals this year was valued at Rs 25.70 crore, an increase from Rs 11.61 crore in 2023.
Among the seized drugs, cocaine accounted for the highest value at Rs 16.70 crore, a staggering increase from Rs 1.25 crore in 2023, the official said.
The police seized mephedrone (MD) valued at Rs 12.67 crore, up from Rs 9.33 crore last year, while the MDMA seizure rose to Rs 29.98 lakh from Rs 22.10 lakh in 2023, he said.
The seizures of ganja and brown sugar were also high, with the values increasing to Rs 67.83 lakh and Rs 30.10 lakh, respectively, compared to Rs 8.46 lakh and Rs 1.78 lakh last year.
Besides, LSD blots valued at Rs 33.55 lakh were also seized, an increase from Rs 19.80 lakh in 2023, while charas seizure of Rs 67.81 lakh and methadone of Rs 55,000 were newly recorded in 2024, the official said.
Conversely, some substances, such as methaqualone and tramadol, which recorded seizures valued at Rs 5.96 crore and Rs 3.64 crore, respectively, in 2023, were not confiscated this year, he said.
Similarly, no heroin was seized in 2024, compared to the contraband of Rs 33,160 seized last year, the police added.
