Taxi drivers serving KIA keep off roads in Bengaluru following colleague's suicide
Bengaluru, Mar 31: Taxi drivers serving the city's Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) stayed off the roads on Wednesday after a colleague who had allegedly set himself ablaze died last night.
Pratap, 34, from Ramanagara, working with the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation's airport taxi service, had allegedly set himself ablaze inside his car near the pick-up area of the airport on Tuesday, depressed over his financial troubles, police sources said.
They were trying to ascertain the exact cause,the sources added.
Aircraft rescue and fire-fighting team had rescued him and he was rushed to hospital, but he succumbed to injuries at midnight, they said.
According to airport taxi drivers, Pratap took the extreme step due to poor financial condition, poor business and inability to pay EMIs.
They said most taxi drivers, including those linked to Ola, Uber, KSDTC and other airport taxi services have stayed off the roads as a mark of protest following his death, as many of them are going through similar financial problems.
KIA, in a passenger advisory, said taxi services at the airport have been impacted and passengers are requested to use Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation buses to travel to or from the airport or make their own travel arrangements.
BMTC has deployed additional buses on the airport route to help passengers, official sources said.
Alleging that price war in the cab industry and government's 'apathy' has led to Pratap's death, former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy,in a series of tweets, said KSDTC was following taxi fare of Rs 24 per km fixed by the government.
Taxi aggregators, however, were offering fares of Rs 9 per km to attract passengers, resulting in business loss for KSDTC drivers, he added.
He urged the state government to intervene and come to the rescue of the taxi drivers.
ಕೆಎಸ್ಟಿಡಿಸಿ ಕ್ಯಾಬ್ಗಳು ದರ ನಿಯಮ ಪಾಲಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದರೆ, ಖಾಸಗಿ ಕ್ಯಾಬ್ಗಳು ₹9ಕ್ಕೆ ಗ್ರಾಹಕರನ್ನು ಸೆಳೆಯುತ್ತಿವೆ. ಹೀಗಾಗಿ ಕೆಎಸ್ಟಿಡಿಸಿ ಕ್ಯಾಬ್ಗಳಿಗೆ ಗ್ರಾಹಕರೇ ಇಲ್ಲದಂತಾಗಿದೆ. ಚಾಲಕರು ಸಮಸ್ಯೆಗೆ ಸಿಲುಕಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಇದರ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ವಿಮಾನ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣದ ಪಾರ್ಕಿಂಗ್ನಲ್ಲೂ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿರುವ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಚಾಲಕರ ಕೊರಳು ಹಿಂಡುತ್ತಿದೆ.
— H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) March 31, 2021
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Senior Congress MLA, former Minister Shamanuru Shivashankarappa passes away
Bengaluru (PTI): Veteran Congress leader Shamanuru Shivashankarappa passed away at a private hospital here on Sunday due to age-related ailments, official sources said.
He was 95 and represented the Davanagere South Assembly constituency. He had been undergoing treatment at the hospital for some time.
Shivashankarappa is survived by three sons, including S S Mallikarjun, Karnataka Minister for Mines and Geology and Horticulture, and four daughters.
His daughter-in-law, Prabha Mallikarjun, is the Member of Parliament from Davanagere.
A former minister, Shivashankarappa, served as treasurer of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) for several decades and was the president of the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, the apex body of the influential Veerashaiva-Lingayat community.
He was also a noted educationist who established several educational institutions and was an industrialist.
