Taxi worry in hill tourist season

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Siliguri, Oct. 10: Tourists to north Bengal may face problems getting taxis from New Jalpaiguri station as cabbies have decided not to ply vehicles after an attack on some of them.

Four persons were arrested after yesterday’s assault on the drivers because their cars did not have Gorkhaland or “GL” number plates.

Although it is the tourist season, the New Jalpaiguri unit of the Darjeeling District Taxi and Private Car Drivers’ Union said it will not to run vehicles till its members get protection from the administration. “We have decided not to ply taxis to Darjeeling till we get some protection,” said Uday Saha, the secretary of the NJP unit of the union.

Taxis affiliated to the central bus stand union, however, will take tourists to Darjeeling and Kurseong from the pre-paid booth on Hill Cart Road. “We have not stopped our service as our drivers did not face any problem,” said Anup Saha, who runs the booth.

But the NJP unit has 60-70 taxis under it while the bus stand has only around 15.

Traffic to Darjeeling during Pujas was about 40 to 50 per cent less compared to last year.

Yesterday, when Badal Roy, Jagannath Roy and four other drivers were returning from Darjeeling with tourists, some youths stopped the cars at Dilaram, about 7km from Kurseong. “They asked the drivers why they were plying vehicles without GL number plates,” said Uday Saha. “They asked them why they weren’t wearing Nepali topis.”

The youths punched, pushed and slapped the drivers. Badal, with a broken nose and a head injury, was admitted to North Bengal Medical College Hospital. Jagannath was admitted to a Siliguri hospital.

There was no report of attack on any tourist.