Struggling to make ends meet: Karnataka bike taxi ban hits six lakh riders hard
Bengaluru: Over six lakh bike taxi riders in Karnataka have been left in a state of deep uncertainty following a High Court directive to stop bike taxi operations in the state. With their primary source of income cut off, many riders now find themselves struggling to meet basic financial obligations.
Bike taxi riders are holding meetings to explore their next steps after nearly six lakh of them have been left jobless, according to the Bike Taxi Welfare Association. Many are now grappling with mounting financial pressures, Deccan Herald reported on Thursday.
Adhinarayana, president of the Bike Taxi Welfare Association, revealed that around 300 riders visit their office in HSR Layout each day seeking support. “We are constantly in touch with them, trying to find a way forward. Shifting to other daily wage jobs will mean we will earn less than before,” DH quoted him as saying.
While the association reportedly met Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy last month, there has been no tangible outcome. “The government has the power to frame rules but has not acted. This has affected both riders and commuters who relied on us,” Adhinarayana added.
Many of these riders have been part of the bike taxi industry since its early days. Shivananda, a native of Belagavi who moved to Bengaluru over a decade ago, has worked as a bike taxi rider since 2018. Before that, he earned Rs 12,000 per month working for a company. A brief stint in food delivery followed, where he earned about Rs 800 per day under demanding and erratic conditions. However, his income had nearly doubled as a bike taxi rider.
For others like Vinayaka, the situation is extremely dire. With no SSLC qualification, job options are extremely limited. “I’ve been sitting at home, desperately hoping something changes. I have to pay my vehicle's EMI, send money home, pay rent as well, but I am unable to manage now,” DH quoted him as saying.
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Allahabad HC sets aside maintenance order in favour of earning wife, says she didn't tell truth
Prayagraj (PTI): The Allahabad High Court has set aside a lower court order mandating a man to pay maintenance to his estranged wife, observing that she earns her living and did not reveal the true salary in her affidavit.
Justice Madan Pal Singh also allowed a criminal revision petition filed by the man, Ankit Saha.
"A perusal of the impugned judgment indicates that in the affidavit filed before the trial court, the opposite party herself admitted that she is a post-graduate and a web designer by qualification. She is working as a senior sales coordinator in a company and getting a salary of Rs 34,000 per month," the court said in the December 3 order.
"But in her cross-examination, she has admitted that she was earning Rs 36,000 per month. Such an amount for a wife who has no other liability cannot be said to be meagre; whereas the man has the responsibility of maintaining his aged parents and other social obligations," it observed.
The high court observed that the woman was not entitled to get any maintenance from her husband "as she is an earning lady and able to maintain herself".
The man's counsel argued in court that the estranged wife did not reveal the whole truth in the affidavit.
"She claimed herself to be an illiterate and unemployed woman. When the document filed by the man was shown to her before the trial court, she admitted her income during cross-examination. Thus, it is clear that she did not come before the trial court with clean hands," the counsel submitted.
The court, in its order, said, "Cases of those litigants who have no regard for the truth and those who indulge in suppressing material facts need to be thrown out of the court."
It impugned the lower court's February 17 judgment and order, passed by the principal judge of a family court in Gautam Buddh Nagar and allowed the criminal revision petition filed by the man.
