Taxi drivers battle move to enforce discipline

The taxi drivers have gone on strike four times over the past 11 days.

IANS/Kolkata

Beware of boarding a taxi in Kolkata. Chances are that you may be thrashed, pushed off or even molested by drivers demanding excess fare or may even refuse to ferry you to your destination.

And if the police crack the whip, the drivers will call flash strikes or launch a violent protest.

Four times over the past 11 days, the taxi drivers of Kolkata have pulled their vehicles off the roads by calling wildcat strikes or protest walks or even to rush to court for “felicitating” bailed out colleagues earlier arrested for vandalism.

No wonder, outbound travellers have missed trains and flights and those arriving at railway stations and the airport have been stranded while the ailing and the old have been physically carried by relatives.

But the people’s plight has not moved the agitators.

Led by the labour arms of the opposition Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India (CPI), and backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party and a large section of cabbies owing allegiance to the ruling Trinamool Congress, they now threaten a “bigger movement.”

Today, the drivers who ply around 37,000 taxis in the city, will protest against the so-called “police excesses” - meaning Kolkata has to brace up for another taxi-less day.

The bone of contention is the West Bengal government’s decision to hike fine for passenger refusal to Rs3,000 from a mere Rs100 and strictly enforce the punitive action.

Passenger refusal has been a major problem faced by commuters.

A senior journalist, who travels by taxi daily to his south Kolkata office, said: “At night, a couple of drivers will just whizz past, two will rush off after hearing the destination. And two-three others will ask for extra fare, ranging from Rs20 to Rs50, and even double.”

Swapna Dutta, a housewife, said: “They are so rough and uncouth. They demand extra money even in the evenings.”

In the past months, two passengers were thrashed by a driver and his associate for protesting taxi refusal. A woman was allegedly molested by a driver. In June, a 73-year-old woman was pushed off a moving vehicle after the driver refused to take her to a busy shopping destination.

The Mamata Banerjee government since April has been slapping a Rs3,000 fine on truant drivers. But having had a free run during the 34-year rule of the COM-led Left Front (1977-2011), they are in no mood to be disciplined.

The government even arrested 22 drivers on non-bailable charges and threatened to scrap the permits of 445 taxis. The drivers got bail after languishing spending four days in jail.

Transport Minister Madan Mitra said: “The drivers cannot take the law in their hands. The government won’t tolerate their excesses.”