Politics and business don't mix

While Varanasi was being decked up and the security tightened for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit last week - which was cancelled later - some taxi operators plying in the city complained their business suffered every time there was a high-level visit to the PM's constituency. While many vehicles were taken off the roads citing security reasons, a large number was redeployed to ferry VVIPs. Worse, there is no guarantee of payment. "If we are lucky, we get paid in six months, but much lower than what we would have made by ferrying a regular passenger," a taxi operator said. "If you are unlucky, you might just have to write off the money."