"Unsafe for women": Karnataka govt withdraws electric bike taxi services
Bengaluru: Karnataka Government has banned operation of electric bike taxi services in the state after they were found to be "unsafe for women" and being carried out in violation of Motor Vehicles Act.
A government order notified that the 2021 Karnataka Electric Bike Taxi Scheme has now been withdrawn.
“It has come to our notice that certain private app-based firms are violating the Motor Vehicles Act and its rules and running illegal non-transport two-wheelers as the transport vehicles,” it said.
It also said there were often clashes between the owners and drivers of auto rickshaws and "maxi cabs" with the bike riders and cases were also registered. The scheme also made it difficult for the transport department to collect taxes.
Further, to maintain law and order and keeping in mind the safety of women travelling on two-wheeler bike taxis, the government has cancelled the scheme, the notification stated.
ALSO READ: Pontiff charged with rape under POCSO Act in Karnataka, arrested
President of the Ola Uber Drivers and Owners Association, Tanveer Pasha, welcomed the decision and said the then BJP government had in 2021 given permission to electric bike taxis in Bengaluru.
“In spite of our opposition, the permission was not withdrawn. We had been agitating against this and even tried to explain to the government about the impact of this permission on auto and taxi drivers' life,” he said.
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.
Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
