Tata Magic owners and drivers in distress due to nationwide lockdown

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Hit by the nationwide lockdown, the Tata Magic owners of the city have started driving their vehicles themselves instead of employing regular drivers. The owners stated that they are incurring losses due to the lockdown and thus they are driving the vehicles themselves to compensate the losses.

Talking to The Sentinel, Samar Mukherjee, an owner of Tata Magic, said, "We are incurring huge losses as we are only allowed to carry three passengers at a time. As fuel prices have also been hiked, we are left with no alternative but to drive our own vehicles."

He further said, "We burn fuel of around Rs 60 per trip; however, carrying only three passengers it has become hard to even cover the fuel prices. Currently there are 244 magic vehicles which operate from Paltan Bazar to ISBT and there are a total of 350 union members."

He said that he runs his vehicle from 8 am to 6 pm and hardly earns around Rs 200 to Rs 300 daily.

The drivers from Paltan Bazar appealed to the administration in unison to allow them to carry at least five passengers by following certain norms. It is to be mentioned that many drivers have now switched over to other professions and have become vegetable and fruit vendors. Many of them are also working as labourers to earn their livelihood.