Adding to the woes of the public who are already facing trouble with transportation due to the ongoing TSRTC crisis, Ola and Uber cabs in the state would also go off the roads from October 19. The Telangana State Taxi and Drivers JAC (TSTD JAC) on Wednesday informed that Ola, Uber and drivers working for IT companies would go on indefinite strike as the government failed to pay heed to their demands.
According to the TSTD JAC, 50,000 cabs would go off the roads until their demands are met.
The TSTD JAC has been demanding that the government and taxi aggregator services charge a minimum fare of Rs 22 per km, reinstate the sacked drivers, place a cap on the number of cabs attached to aggregator marketplaces in order to ensure a minimum business guarantee to all drivers, along with other demands for their welfare and security. They had written a letter to the Transport Ministry to fulfil their demands, however, the Ministry failed to acknowledge it.
Meanwhile, the protesting TSRTC JAC has also called for a statewide bandh on October 19, which has been supported by the Opposition parties and several unions.
Congress party chief Uttam Kumar Reddy on Wednesday announced that they would offer complete support to the bandh. Along with the Congress, TJS, CPI, CPI (M), CPI (ML) and others have also extended their support. The BJP and TDP are also likely to extend support.
The TSRTC employees are on strike since October 5 seeking the merger of TSRTC with the government along with several other demands. For failing to report on duty, the government has sacked around 48,000 TSRTC employees. Despite 12 days of protests and two suicides, the government hasn’t invited the agitating employees for negotiations. As a result, the statewide bandh on October 19 is likely to happen.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had earlier said that there was no question of taking back the sacked employees nor any scope for talks. He warned that if the employees engage in violent protests, the government would handle them with an iron fist.