Taxi union threatens to protest from Nov. 15 over fitness certificate row
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As the 12-day cab aggregators' strike ended on Friday, the city's biggest taxi union of black and yellow cabs threatened to go on protest from November 15. They have said they will park all the kaali-peeli cabs outside chief minister Devendra Fadnavis' bungalow in south Mumbai if their vehicles' fitness certificates are not renewed or extended. The fitness certificates of about 5,000 cabs have expired in Mumbai.
Anthony Quadros, the union leader of Mumbai Taximen's Union, told mid-day that senior officials at the transport department are "busy playing games" and the taxi drivers were suffering because of that. "Since the last two months, the renewal of the fitness certificate has been delayed due to a court order, which has directed the transport department to conduct a test that includes testing of brakes at a minimum distance of 250 metres.
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However, neither the government or the transport department has taken the order seriously," he said. "We've written to the transport department several times but they have not shown any interest and instead, have asked us to go to Vashi or Panvel. Firstly, it is expensive to take our cabs there for fitness certificates and secondly, local goons there bully city cabbies into shell out R500 for each one. The department should identify spots in the city to conduct the tests or extend the certificate validity," he added.
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