Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Aug 10: Kashmir Tourist Transporters Federation (KTTF) has expressed serious concern over the issuance of Radio Taxi permits to some influential persons in bulk by the Government.
In a statement issued here, today the chairman of the Federation Haji Abdul Rashid said there are apprehensions that these operators will not remain confined in plying their taxis to Municipal limits of Jammu and Srinagar as the permits have been given in bulk and there are apprehensions among the members of the Federation that they will ply on inter district and intra district routes as well which will prove disastrous for thousand of the educated young taxi cab operators who have taken huge loan from banks for purchasing their taxi cabs in order to sustain.
Haji Rashid said that delegation of J&K Tourists Taxi operators had met the Minister of Transport Qamar Ali Akhoon, Political Advisor to Chief Minister Devender Rana and Transport Commissioner, Mehraj-ud-Din Kakroo at Jammu in February this year apprised them that such a decision will have wrong repercussions and in the said meeting Taxi Cab representatives were assured by the Government that radio taxi permits will operate within the municipal limits of Jammu and Srinagar cities.
The Federation however is apprehensive that in view of bulk permits given to some influential persons they will ply on inter district and intra district routes.
The Chairman demanded that there should be a blanket ban on these permits so that the interests of educated youth are not harmed.