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Transport unions in Himachal Pradesh on Monday staged a protest against the government's Automated Testing Stations (ATS), blocking roads for commercial vehicles and disrupting travel for tourists and locals in Dharamshala.
Various transport unions, whether they are private bus operators or truck operators, including taxi unions, have joined hands to raise their voice against automated testing stations (ATS), which are being established by the government in one place in a district. The transporters are saying that ATS in Kangra district is established in Rani Tal, which is very far from them. Some of them have to travel more than a hundred kilometres, and it is a waste of time and resources as well. Moreover, people at ATS centres are overcharging for many things. Speaking to ANI, Thakur Mehar Singh, president of the Ex-Servicemen Taxi Union, said that the government has consistently overlooked the demands made by the unions of commercial vehicles despite giving several memos. "This strike is against ATS. We have already given memorandums many times, but the government is not listening to our demands. We are demanding the manual passing of vehicles, and if they want to implement ATS, then this should be established at several places. At present, it is very far from Dharamshala," he said. He also accused ATS centres of overcharging for essential items. "The yellow strip, which we used to get at just Rs. 100, but at ATS centres, they are charging Rs. 500 for it. Similarly, they are also overcharging for fire extinguishers and first aid kits. So we are on strike, and we are stopping commercial vehicles today. It's a one-day strike, but if they don't listen to us, we will be forced to continue it," he added. Ashok Sharma, a taxi operator, said that all unions of commercial vehicle unions, including auto rickshaw, bus, taxi, and truck unions in the district, have joined the protest. "We are holding a strike today. The government is forcefully imposing ATS (automated Testing Station), and we are against it; that's why we are holding a protest rally here. All unions of commercial vehicles have joined this protest rally. Auto rickshaw, bus and truck unions, including the taxi union and all other transporters, are here with us today," he said. The strike is also affecting everyone's schedule, including tourists. Harsh, a tourist, added that their entire plan has been shattered due to the strike, as no vehicle can be hired to reach his hostel, which is 2 hours away. "We are facing a strike right now. We travelled throughout the night in a bus, and we are quite tired. Our entire plan has shattered. We had booked a hostel which is two hours away from here. We cannot hire even a scooty or taxi cab," he said. "The protesters are not allowing any commercial vehicles from all the states here in Dharamshala. So we are planning to track now. So we'll also try to find out some hotel at nearby locations, and we are also feeling hungry," he shared. Another tourist echoed a similar sentiment, "We are a group of six friends, and we have come from Delhi. We just came to know that the taxi unions in Dharamshala are on strike today. So we will not get any taxi, no one can hire a scooty and our destination is a little far from this place. So we are again rescheduling our plan and will wait for the situation to get normal." (ANI)
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