As a mark of protest against the killing of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers in a terrorist attack at Pulwama in Kashmir and as a mark of tribute to the martyrs, the operators of jeep cabs refrained from operation on Sunday.
The taxi-maxi cab union did not operate its vehicles in the entire Garhwal region as mark of respect for the martyrs. The public faced major inconvenience due to the stalling of services as about 25,000 such taxis ferry about three lakh persons daily between various destinations in the seven districts of Garhwal region including Dehradun.
Though buses, operated by the transport corporation and private operators, ply on different routes in the plains and mountainous regions, the jeep cabs are considered to be the lifeline especially in the mountainous regions.
Due to the limited number of governmental and privately operated buses plying on remote rural mountainous routes, the jeep cabs play a vital role in facilitating commutation in the mountainous regions of the State.
However, the operators kept their engines shut on Sunday in protest against the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir.
The union of the operators also held a condolence meet and its members paid tributes to the martyrs on the occasion. From various locations in Dehradun, the taxi cabs operate for locations across the Garhwal region including Tehri, Chamba, Uttarkashi, Srinagar, Pauri, Chamoli, Karnprayag, Rudraprayag, Joshimath, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Guptkashi, Lansdowne, Kotdwar, Chinyalisaud, Devprayag, Purola, Badkot, Ghansali, Mussoorie and other locations. Office bearers of the union stated that the manner in which Pakistan supported terrorists had killed India soldiers could not be forgiven. They also apologised to the inconvenience caused to the public by stalling of their services.