Police delaying nod for protest against ban: Bike taxi association

Bengaluru: Bike taxi drivers across Bengaluru continue the fight against the ongoing ban, urging the government to reverse the crackdown on bike taxis. 

The city-based Namma Bike Taxi Association claims that they have been denied the permission to organise a peaceful protest, ‘Save Bike Taxis,’ on June 23 at Freedom Park, despite multiple requests. 

“We’ve been reaching out to the police officials for a week. Despite the commissioner giving us the green signal, we haven’t received the formal permission due the fear of auto unions protesting against our right to protest. How is this fair?” said Mohammed Salim, president of the association. 

In the event that the association does not receive permission to protest at Freedom Park, it plans to conduct a protest on the same date outside Town Hall. 

As many as 110 members of the association met Health Minister and Gandhinagar MLA Dinesh Gundu Rao and Dasarahalli MLA S Muniraju on Thursday in an attempt to gain legal recognition and a policy framework for bike taxis. 

“My phone doesn’t stop ringing — 250 to 300 drivers call me every day, asking for help. I don’t know what to tell them. Should we lose our livelihoods because the government has no policy for bike taxis? We need regulation, not a ban,” said Salim.