Taxi association calls for 48 hr strike from Aug 12

KOLKATA: Bengal Taxi Association (BTA) on Tuesday called for a 48-hour-strike starting on August 12, demanding fare hike and to protest against the sky rocketing diesel price.

"There are 17, 000 yellow taxis in the state. All these taxis will be off the road from August 12 to August 13," said Bimal Guha, general secretary of BTA.

The taxi operators demanded that the minimum fare should be increased from Rs 30 to Rs 50 (for two kilometers).Guha pointed out that on one hand the Modi Government has been continuously increasing the diesel price and on the other hand the taxi fare is constant.In March, during pre COVID-19 pandemic period, the price of diesel was Rs 64.65 per litre. Today, the price has shot up to Rs 93.02."Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the number of passengers and the number of taxis running on the roads have gone down significantly," he said.