Gangtok experiences local taxi problems in tourist season

GANGTOK: One of the best way to know that tourist season is ‘in’ is when people are seen queuing up on the roads waiting for taxi. Large numbers of tourists are visiting Sikkim every day, which is actually good but the flip side of this is the unavailability of taxis for the normal passengers.

Recently the Government had come up with a very good proposal of starting ‘Gangtok Darshan’ bus services for the tourists but it had to be dropped because of the opposition form the Driver’s Association. But had the Government started this project every day passengers would not have faced so much of problems.

The SNT is trying to help by providing city runners but those buses are not as convenient as the taxis because of the problem for stoppage. The taxi drivers had opposed the Gangtok Darshan project as they were apprehensive that their bread and butter may be compromised, but looking at the queue of people at roadside everyday it appears that it is the general public who are compromised by the decision the most.

Mr RB Rai resident of Daragaon Tadong said that “he works in private sector but due to traffic problems and shortage of the taxi is unable to reach office in time ‘everyday’”. This is the story of maximum of Government employees as well travelling by taxi these days.

President of Travel Agent Association of Sikkim (TAAS) Mr. Lukendra Rasaily when approached said that the Government must consider luxury bus service for the tourists to bring quality in tourism. He also added that many locals will get employment as guides, caterers, drivers, helping boys etc. This project will also give an authentic flavor to the tourism service and will also help in controlling overcharging, which has become a serious issue, concerning the image of Sikkim Tourism itself.

(Sikkim Mail)

Taxi strike leaves hundreds headed for hills stranded

Siliguri, Aug. 28: Hundreds of people headed for the hills were stranded today after the Siliguri Taxi Owners’ Association pulled more than 200 vehicles off the roads to protest against the absence of taxi stands and parking spaces in Darjeeling and Kurseong.
The taxi owners also blamed police of high-handedness.
However, what began as an indefinite strike was later withdrawn following a meeting with Darjeeling district superintendent of police Rajesh Subarno, who agreed to look into the problem.
Taxis will ply as normal from tomorrow.
“We don’t have any stand in the two hill towns to park our vehicles or designated stops from where we can pick up passengers,” association secretary Amal Khawas said in the morning. “So the drivers are forced to pick up passengers on the way back, and when they do that, policemen often catch them and impose fines.”
Later in the day, the police chief called a meeting with the taxi owners to find a way to end the impasse.
“He promised us two stoppages at Chowk Bazar and at Laden La Road in Darjeeling. He has called another meeting on September 8 to discuss the other problems. So we have decided to postpone the strike for now,” Khawas said.
Subarno said the permission was temporary.
“A final decision will be taken in the next meeting,” the police chief added.
The strike left hundreds of tourists and commuters stranded in Siliguri.
Bimal Gurung, a resident of Ghoom, was at the Siliguri bus terminus this morning, desperately trying to board a bus to his hometown.
“I was here on leave and missed my office today as the buses were few and far between and crowded beyond their capacity,” Gurung said. “I found many people, desperate to board the bus, climb to the roof while a few others hung on to the ladder at the back.”