Travel operators wants ban on outside state vehicles on Chardham route

Local travel operators staged an indefinite dharna here on Tuesday demanding a ban on vehicles from outside the state operating on the Chardham Yatra route.

The transport department is issuing green cards to vehicles from other states for operating on the Chardham Yatra route. It is harming the local travel operators, the protesters said.

"The travel operators were very enthusiastic about the start of the Chardham Yatra. But they are now in a state of despair as vehicles from states like Haryana and Delhi have come to Haridwar to operate on the route," Haridwar's taxi union president Sanjay Sharma said.

"They are being issued green cards by the Uttarakhand Transport Department which is not fair. It is harming local travel operators. We have raised the matter before authorities a number of times but no action has been taken," he said.

He said the protest will continue until a ban is imposed on vehicles from outside the state operating on the Chardham route.