Drivers upbeat, hotels fret over Tamil Nadu's new accommodation norms

Drivers cheers they won't have to spend nights in cabs; hotels say it's expensive, impractical

For drivers like P Manimaran, life is confined to cabs – whether it is the freezing months of Ooty, when temperatures can hover near zero degree Celsius, or Tamil Nadu’s sizzling summer. As night falls and the tourists he has ferried have retired to their hotels and resorts, Manimaran squeezes into his car to sleep in the parking lot.

It is not the most comfortable bed, but he has no choice. Few hotels or lodges, after all, have a provision for the driver to stay. The Tamil Nadu government hopes to change that.

The state government’s order of June 28