Newmai News Network
Shillong | April 26
Like the daily wage earners, local taxi drivers in Meghalaya are also facing a very hard time amidst the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19.
President of East Khasi Hills Local Taxi Welfare Association, John Roy Lyngdoh said that since the lockdown, all taxi drivers in the state are in great hardship with no other means of livelihood.
“The lock down has not only affected the taxi drivers and taxi owners but also their families as a whole, and we don’t know how long we will be able to go on like this,” he lamented.
Stating that on an average a taxi driver draws a salary of Rs 3000 per month from the owner of the vehicle, he said, “A taxi driver gives his owner a sum of Rs 500 to 600 every day but if he works hard he gets an extra earning of Rs 50 to 100 for himself which goes a long way in supporting himself and his family. With the lockdown in effect, from where will drivers earn even a single paisa?”
He also said that the drivers have remained silent all this time in anticipation that the lockdown will be lifted and everything will bounce back to normal but now their thoughts are clouded and they and their families are having a very difficult time.
Informing that there are about 7 to 8 thousands local taxi drivers in East Khasi Hills district alone, he said, “Our savings are all used up and we don’t know how long this lockdown will continue. All I can say is that soon we will have nothing left to eat.”
Lauding the government for the assistance of Rs 700 a week that has helped the drivers to somehow sustain themselves, he said, “We urge the government to also exempt the professional tax, road tax, passenger tax, insurance etc borne by taxi owners only during the lockdown period because the drivers are not earning anything during the lockdown.”
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