Taxis, trucks to strike work on April 25

More than 1.5 lakh commercial vehicles — auto-rickshaws, taxis, trucks and private buses — are likely to strike work on April 25. HT reports.

More than 1.5 lakh commercial vehicles — auto-rickshaws, taxis, trucks and private buses — are likely to strike work on April 25.

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Members of Joint Action Committee of Transporters, an association of all commercial vehicle owners in the Capital, said the strike is being called to protest against alleged harassment and delay being faced at transport department's vehicle fitness centre at Burari in north Delhi.

"The department has suddenly increased fitness charges from R200 to R1,200 for truck and tempo owners. Taxi operators are also forced to shell out twice the amount they paid as fitness charges earlier. Our applications for fitness are also rejected on flimsy grounds," said Suraj Prakash Vaid, general secretary, All India Tourist Taxi Association.

According to transporters, the privately-run fitness centre at Burari has untrained staff that rejects their vehicles on flimsy ground and sometimes take 2-3 days to complete the process which otherwise should not take more than 3-4 hours.

Some transporters struck work for a few hours last week and sat on a dharna at Rajghat. Transporters argued that they even approached the transport department and the minister several times requesting them to simplify the fitness process but nothing changed.

"We are going to meet the chief minister next week. If we do not get a positive response, we will do a chakka jam on April 25. If the government continues to ignore our demands, we will have a chaklka jam across the country," Vaid said.