Taxi operators oppose removal of stand

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 30

An anti-encroachment team led by Dehradun Railway Station officials faced stiff opposition from members of the Doon Taxi Association (Railway Station) here today when it tried to remove the taxi stand outside the railway station.

The taxi stand has been there for several decades and it caters to tourists going to Mussoorie and other hill areas. Taxi operators did not allow the demolition team to raze encroachments at the stand. They sat on a dharna and raised slogans against the team.

The taxi operators alleged that the Railway Station officials had displaced a notice on Monday night asking them to vacate the stand within 12 hours. Rajendra Kumar Anand, president of the Doon Taxi Association (Railway Station), alleged that the railway station authorities were purposely harassing taxi operators.

He said Chief Minister Harish Rawat had assured them at a meeting held yesterday that they would not be removed from the railway station. Nearly 800 private taxis ply from the railway station to Mussoorie and other hill cities of the state every day.