Lucknow: The water taxis brought from Bhavnagar, Gujarat to ply in river Ganga at Varanasi at the insistence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have been facing stiff resistance from the local boatmen. According to the officials, 10 water taxis have been brought from Bhavnagar, Gujarat. The Varanasi Municipal Corporation has finalized the route for water taxi service.
The boatmen in Varanasi have stopped their service at all the 85 Ghats of river Ganga for the last 24 hours opposing plying of water taxis. While the civic administration of Varanasi has been claiming the water taxis would provide relief to the devotees who would reach Kashi Vishwanath temple without facing traffic hazards, the boatmen said it would snatch their livelihood. On Thursday, the boatmen called upon a Maha Panchayat under the banner of Maa Ganga Nishadraj Sewa Nyas and decided to continue their strike until the water taxi service was withdrawn.
Threat to their only source of income
According to the leader of boatmen, Shambhu Sahani, for centuries, traditional boats have been the only source of their income and now the government wants to kill it. He said that more than 5000 boatmen have been providing service at river Ganga in Varanasi. However the water taxis can provide employment to barely two dozen people only. Sahani said that the administration has refused to even listen to them and decided to go ahead with the plan of plying water taxis. The boatmen would not let these taxis run in Ganga and oppose with full might, he said.
The organizational secretary of UP Congress, Anil Yadav condemned the move of starting water taxis in Ganga. He said that this would adversely impact the livelihood of several thousand traditional boatmen. He said that instead of upgrading the existing boats, the administration has invited a company from Gujarat to run water taxis.
Water taxis to begin service from Monday
Meanwhile, the waterways authority of Varanasi has fixed the route of the taxis and announced the launch of this service from Monday. According to corporation officials, water taxis would ferry passengers from Assai Ghat to Namo Ghat, Harishchandra Ghat to Manikarnika Ghat and to Kashi Vishwanath corridor. At present two water taxis have been deployed and each would make five rounds daily. However the number of water taxis might increase depending upon the passenger flow.
