Over a thousand taxi drivers of Dhanbad are reeling under the impact of the second wave of the pandemic, with many of them not receiving calls from customers for the past 20 days. The remaining are getting only one booking per day, instead of three to four.

The situation of over 200 drivers operating at the Dhanbad station road is worse, as majority of them are returning empty handed at the end of the day due to lack of passengers in the area.

A host of factors, including the decreased movement of passengers in trains, their suspension amid the lockdowns, and increased safety concerns among people are primarily responsible for this situation. Majority of passengers now prefer to travel in their own vehicles or opt for cheaper options such as autorickshaws, making the condition of the taxi drivers worse.

BN Prasad (59) a taxi driver of Professor Colony in Chiragora told The Telegraph Online that he has been in the profession for the last 38 years and supports a family of eight, but the decreased income has been putting him under a lot of difficulties.

“We had received a blow during last year’s lockdown already, with only a few of the trains being restored. However, the situation became worse during the second wave as the Railways suspended popular trains like Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi Express and the CoalField Express. We have been visiting the station daily with hope to get a passenger, but return penniless,” Prasad said.

Inam Khan (40), another taxi driver of Panderpala locality, said,” I spent 10 litres of fuel for over a week but never got any passengers. So, I am now sitting at home.”

Khan said that taxi drivers used to earn Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 per month normally, and during the wedding season it went up to Rs 15,000 per month. “Due to the cancellation of several weddings, we got another blow this year,” he added.

Moshad Khan(35), a taxi driver of Wasseypur locality, said that the majority of the passengers boarding trains now are migrant workers.

“They prefer travelling in autorickshaws and our main customers who used to arrive through trains like Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi Express, etc are elusive now,” he added.

“Though we have ration cards but around 12 kg of rice and 10 kg of wheat can’t fulfil all our requirements. We also need medicines for treatment, housing rent etc and the government should come forward to help us,” said Moshad.