Boatmen end strike against water taxis

Varanasi: Following several rounds of talks with the local authorities, the boatmen called off their strike on late Tuesday evening. They had gone on strike in protest against the proposed operation of motorboats as water taxi in the Ganga. It was agreed in the meeting that the boatmen would form their own 11-member team which would ensure a permanent solution to the problem within a month after meeting with the district administrative officers. District magistrate S Raja Lingam, along with the Varanasi Municipal Corporation officials and police, held a meeting with the office bearers of the Maa Ganga Nishadraj Seva Nyas and other members. The DM asked the boatmen not to operate overloaded boats in the Ganga and said that there should be no encroachment on the ghats in the name of boat making or repairing to which the boatmen agreed.President of Maa Ganga Nishadraj Seva Nyas Pramod Majhi said that the strike was called off after the assurance given by the authorities. Earlier, the boatmen gheraoed the cruise with their boats to obstruct the operation of the cruise on Tuesday. It was planned to introduce the water taxi services in Varanasi by July 15. As many as 10 motorboats have already arrived here from Bhavnagar (Gujarat) to be utilised as water taxis between Ramnagar fort and Namo Ghat. The stoppages of this taxi will be at Rajghat, Assi, Dashashwamedh and Lalita ghats.
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