Members of Dakshina Kannada District Taximen and Maxicab Association staging a protest in Mangaluru on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: H.S. MANJUNATH
The taximen and maxicab associations of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts staged protests in Mangaluru and Udupi on Tuesday, opposing the State government’s decision to make it compulsory to install GPS and panic button in tourist vehicles.
Speaking at the protest in Udupi, K. Raghupathi Bhat, former MLA and president of Udupi District Taximen and Maxicab Association, said that the government should make installing GPS and panic button devices compulsory in new tourist vehicles. Owners and drivers of existing vehicles are not in a position to install them as they are under loss by paying various taxes, he said.
He said that the government should take action against owners of white number plate vehicles (private vehicles) who rented it out. They come in the way of business of tourist vehicles.
Members of Udupi District Taximen and Maxicab Association staging a protest in Udupi on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: UMESH S. SHETTIGAR
Speaking in Mangaluru, K. Ananda Gowda, president of Dakshina Kannada Association, said that though the government had fixed ₹7,550 as the fee for installing both the devices, the offices of Regional Transport Officers across the State are collecting between ₹13,000 and ₹15,000 to fix them. This is a burden on taxi drivers and owners, he said.
Mr. Gowda said that the Transport Minister has ordered the fitness certificate of tourist vehicles can be renewed till the end of September without fixing the two devices. But the RTOs are insisting that the fitness certificates will not be renewed unless the devices are fixed.
