The
announcement by Darjeeling district magistrate Punit Yadav of
introducing as many as 1,000 blue-white coloured metered taxis in Siliguri from September in place of auto-rickshaws has caused alarm
among auto drivers.
The autos are being phased out as they
are causing a high amount of pollution. The 1,400-odd city auto owners
in and around town have become panicky after the announcement.
Protesting against the decision, Siliguri City Auto Operators’ Welfare
Society secretary Nirmal Sarkar said, “City autos help us make both ends
meet. We are not going to allow anyone to snatch away our means of
survival. We must protest.”
The district transport department will
start distributing application forms from next week. It has been decided
that town residents will be given preference in the distribution.
“Let the government impose a ban on
city-autos that have become old and are poorly maintained, but not
disband new ones and those in good condition,” said Sarkar. “So far the
government had done nothing for us. How would taxis ply on the narrow
and overcrowded roads of town? Fuel prices have been shooting up while
the government has restricted city-auto owners from increasing the fare.
We will see how the government tackles these issues with taxis.”
Madan Bhattacharya, a member of the
transport board, said, “The government, studied everything in utmost
detail and arrived at this decision.” (HS)