MANALI: With demand to allow only taxis registered in Himachal Pradesh to Rohtang pass, members of Him-Aanchal Taxi Operators Union on Thursday staged a demonstration on the Mall Road of Manali .
The cabbies say Rohtang was the only source of income for thousands of families and they were suffering huge financial losses for over one year. Rohtang, the main tourist destination of Manali where tourists see snow in most time of the year, was opened for tourists in June. Given the safety of tourists, only local taxis were being allowed to go to the area. Permit to go to Rohtang was being issued manually by the SDM office. Now that online permit booking system is being restarted and any vehicle from the country can do so after paying permit and pollution charges of Rs 550. Only 1,200 vehicles are allowed to go to Rohtang pass every day following the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order.
Taxi union president Puran Chand said, “We already had very few passengers this year. Most of the tourists are coming in their own cars and are going to other locations. If permits are available to everybody, local taxi operators will get only a few permits out of a daily quota of 1,200. How will we survive? If the government fails to come out with a solution, we may go on indefinite strike.”
Cabinet minister Govind Thakur went to meet the agitating cabbies and sat on road along with them to talk with them.
“Their demands are genuine. The tourism industry has suffered huge losses. Taxi operators had no business since March 2020, but we are also bound to comply with the NGT order. We shall find a solution of this situation at government level,” the minister said.
