Covid-19: Hired taxis, Maxicab owers yet to be paid in Mangaluru

The owners of maxicab and taxis in Mangaluru are complaining that their payments have not been released for the past three months despite working round the clock with the district administration and providing transportation facilities to Covid warriors, including police personnel in order to contain coronavirus.

This is at a time when 25% of the vehicles hired are still awaiting payments for 2019 MP elections, Dakshina Kannada Taxi Men’s and Maxicab Association president Dinesh Kumpala said.

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“The service of 150 vehicles had been utilised by police and health departments. The owners have to pay drivers of the vehicles. Sometimes, the vehicles are needed round the clock and we had deployed two to three drivers on a shift basis,” he added.

Despite submitting memorandums seeking the release of pending payments, no action had been initiated so far. The Election Commission had fixed Rs 3,450 for maxi cabs and Rs 2,350 for taxis per day for election duty. We hope that the same amount would be paid for vehicles utilised during the Covid-19 crisis,” he said.

At present, 30 vehicles are used by rural police stations, including Vittal, Puttur, Subrahmanya, among others in the district.

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He charged that Rs 5,000 compensation, announced by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, as part of the relief package for people in different sectors including taxi drivers, had not reached them. According to transport officials, the package applies to auto and taxi drivers but not those driving maxi cabs. The maxi cab drivers should also be included in the compensation package, Kumpala urged.

All the drivers with LMV badge should receive compensation,” the association members said.

The rise in fuel prices has also affected taxis and maxi cabs.

“The government should control the rise in the price of fuel. Despite RBI guidelines, taxi and maxi cab owners continue to receive calls from banks on paying loan installments. The government should waive off interest on loans borrowed by owners of taxis and maxi cabs. Without tourism, marriages and other programmes, maxi cabs and taxi owners are struggling to make ends meet. So the government should exempt taxi and maxi cab owners from paying taxes and insurance for next six months,” Kumpala demanded.