On Friday, commuters in Mumbai were still affected significantly by the indefinite strike of the cab drivers with the app-based systems Ola, Uber, and Rapido, which is now on the fourth day. The strike has even worsened as the drivers held a massive demonstration at Ashad Maidan in south Mumbai and demanded that the government take immediate action.
Dr. K.N. Kshirsagar, the president of the Maharashtra Gig Kamgar Manch (MGKM), said that app-based cabs, which have not been on the road since the start of the protest, are almost 7090 percent. available cabs in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune, Nagpur, and around the airports, railway stations, bus terminals, and harbors will be in short supply due to the strike.
The taxi operators want rationalisation of fares, want the state government to pare down the fare of app-based taxi cabs with that of the metered cabs and auto-rickshaws. The other demands are the prohibition of bike taxis, regulating permits on cabs and autos, creating a welfare board, and enacting the Maharashtra Gig Workers Act.
The final official meeting between the drivers and the government was on Tuesday with the state transport minister Pratap Sarnaik at Mantralaya, but no follow-up meeting has been held since then, which agitated the drivers.
The demonstration has also assumed an aggressive dimension as videos have emerged on social media indicating that striking drivers have allegedly been harassing other drivers to refuse to take rides and join the strike.
Maharashtra Gig Kamgar Manch has made it clear that the strike will not stop till all the demands are fulfilled. In the meantime, the citizens have been encouraged to seek out different transport means and even expect excessive delays as the protest is underway.
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