Weekend curfew: Karnataka taxi, auto drivers seek aid

Government assured us that there would be no lockdown, a taxi driver said

The undeclared shutdown on Friday followed by the weekend lockdown has hit the auto and taxi drivers hard, with many urging the government to come out with an aid package before resorting to such moves.

Abhishek D, a taxi driver, said most of the time, the government had been doing the greatest disservice to them with such sudden decisions.

“Till last week, the government assured us that there would be no lockdown. Suddenly, they announced a weekend curfew. Even before we could realise, the curfew came into force on Friday itself. They had so much time to prepare us. These last-minute decision-making has made life in the city uncertain,” he said.

Tanveer Pasha, president of Ola, Taxi for Sure and Uber Owners and Drivers Association, said they will support a lockdown if it helps break the chain of infections, but demanded that the government support the drivers.

G Sampath, general secretary of Adarsh Auto Union, said the government had failed to consider the unorganised sector in its decisions.

“We are people whose life and livelihood is dependent on the day’s earnings. The government has failed us time and again,” he said.

He referred to the government’s promise last year that over 7.5 lakh drivers will get Rs 5,000.

“In the end, less than 2.9 lakh drivers received and they had to struggle a lot to get that amount. Now, there is another talk of lockdown. Let them implement a programme to provide fixed aid to the community for three months, before taking such decisions,” he said.

Drivers who spoke to DH echoed the sentiments, noting that their income had gone down considerably in the pandemic period.

Prakash Kammatgi said he had to pay Rs 5,000 per month to service the loan on his autorickshaw.

“We can’t pick passengers after 7.30 pm as dropping someone to a faraway place will land us in trouble during night curfew,” he said.