Karnataka to give licence to e-bike taxi soon: Rs 25 for 5 km

News Network
December 7, 2022

Bengaluru: The Karnataka transport department has said it will soon issue a licence to Wicked Ride, the parent company of Bounce, to operate electric bike taxi services in the state. The state government has fixed the fare at Rs 25 for 5 km and Rs 50 for 10 km. The E-bike taxi services will be permitted to operate under the Karnataka Electric Bike Taxi Scheme, 2021.

According to officials at Bounce, the company applied for the licence to operate e-bike taxis a year ago, after the government notified the e-bike taxi scheme in 2021. The transport department Tuesday, December 6, held a discussion with Bounce and Blu Smart, regarding the application for a licence to operate e-bike taxis and e-ride-sharing services in the state. According to sources, other car and bike rental service companies were also part of different meetings with regard to licensing issues.

However, a senior transport official told indianexpress.com: “We will officially provide the licence and announce the operations of e-bike taxis in the next two-three days. The e-bike taxi operators will get a licence after they comply and submit the required documents as per the state’s e-bike taxi scheme. The Karnataka State Transport Authority chairman will take a final call on the same. After which, the operators will be given time to prepare for rolling out their services…”

According to the e-bike taxi scheme, the licence will be valid for a period of five years from the date of issue. It also mandates that the distance between the origin and the destination trip shall not be more than 10 km, among other stipulations.

Bounce officials stated that under the e-bike taxi service, the company will introduce a new type of scooter and will also allow women riders to be part of the service.

M Manjunath, president of Adarsha Auto and Taxi Driver’s union, said: “We vehemently oppose this decision of the state government. It is clearly against the interests of poor autorickshaw drivers. Already, apps like Rapido have destroyed the livelihoods of auto-rickshaw drivers by operating illegally. The introduction of e-bike taxis with such low fares is going to devastate the auto drivers’ livelihood further.”

Dr Ashish Verma, a Bengaluru-based mobility expert, said: “The introduction of e-bike taxis has its own advantages and disadvantages. While the service can enhance the last and first-mile connectivity from metro stations, reduce pollution, and encourage public transportation, among other factors… Road fatalities and safety concerns still haunt the efficient use of two-wheelers in the country. Also, the e-bike taxi services can further dent the livelihood of auto drivers. In addition, covering long distances might also be a problem.”

Meanwhile, the transport department gave a month’s time to cab aggregators to comply with Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rules, 2018. Cab aggregators Ola and Uber applied for renewal of licences for their cab services Tuesday.

According to the transport department, cab aggregators were yet to comply with rules like installing panic buttons, GPS-enabled tracking, and setting up a control room and grievance cell, among others.

The transport department has given Ola a month’s time, and Uber one-and-a-half months’ time to comply with the rules, until which their licenses won’t be renewed. However, the dispute on auto services ‘illegally’ operated by them has continued to be a sub-judice matter.

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News Network
May 11,2025

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Amid the ongoing border tension with Pakistan, the Punjab Police in India arrested two individuals on espionage charges. They allegedly leaked sensitive information and photographs of Army cantonment areas and Air Bases in Amritsar, said the police on Sunday.

The two persons were identified as Palak Sher Masih and Suraj Masih. They were arrested in a significant counter-espionage operation by the Amritsar Rural Police.

Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav wrote on X, "Malerkotla Police apprehends two individuals for their alleged involvement in espionage activities linked to a Pakistani official posted at the High Commission, New Delhi.

"Acting on credible intelligence, one suspect was arrested for leaking sensitive information regarding Indian Army movements to a Pakistan-based handler. Based on disclosures made during interrogation, a second conduit was also identified and taken into custody.

"Preliminary investigation reveals that the accused had been receiving payments through online transactions in exchange for classified information. They were in frequent contact with the handler and were involved in channeling funds to other local operatives as per his instructions. Two mobile phones have been recovered, and an FIR has been registered."

The police said further investigation will be undertaken as per established protocol, with a focus on tracing the financial trail and identifying additional operatives and linkages within the network.

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Agencies
May 14,2025

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At least 56 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip after the regime's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the military would enter the war-battered territory "with full force".

Medical sources said at least 50 people have been killed in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza since dawn Wednesday.

The heavy airstrikes have also left more than 100 people injured, with several houses being targeted and collapsed on their residents.

Another four people were killed in a strike on the southern city of Khan Yunis, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said.

The ferocious aggression came after the release of Israeli-American Edan Alexander, who had been in Hamas captivity since October 2023, offered a brief pause in the war on Gaza on Monday.

But the strikes resumed amid fierce new criticism of Israel's tactics in the war.

"In the very coming days, we are going in with full force to complete the operation," Netanyahu was quoted as saying in a statement released on Tuesday.

"There will be no situation where we stop the war. A temporary ceasefire might happen, but we are going all the way," he added.

His remarks came after UN relief chief Tom Fletcher called on the UN Security Council to take action "to prevent genocide" in Gaza as he gave a scathing account of Israel's aggression in the territory. 

"Will you act -- decisively -- to prevent genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law?" he said to UN ambassadors in New York.

Late Tuesday, the Israeli military urged civilians in several parts of northern Gaza to evacuate after it intercepted "two projectiles" fired from the territory. 

The armed wing of Hamas ally Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for rocket fire into Israel, which has been rare in recent weeks. 

In Paris, President Emmanuel Macron said in critical remarks not typical of France that Netanyahu's actions in blocking aid to Gaza were "shameful".

Meanwhile, Russia, China and the UK have rejected Israel’s plans for distributing aid in Gaza, instead urging Tel Aviv to lift its two-month blockade on the territory.

Since the Israeli military broke a two-month ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in mid-March, the occupying entity has blocked the entry of all humanitarian aid, including medicine, fuel, and food supplies into Gaza, drastically worsening the humanitarian crisis in the territory, where even clean water is critically scarce.

Dozens of people, mostly children, have died from starvation. Since the aid blockade began on March 2, at least 57 children have reportedly died from the effects of malnutrition, according to the Ministry of Health.

“People are trapped in this cycle where a lack of diversified food, malnutrition and disease fuel each other,” WHO’s representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Dr. Rik Peeperkorn said.

“This is one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time,” he added.

According to a World Bank report, the current crisis in Gaza has now made nearly all of its population almost entirely dependent on humanitarian aid due to prolonged war and blockade.

Nearly all of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million has been displaced, often multiple times, since the regime launched its genocidal war on the territory in October 2023.

Over 52,900 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.

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News Network
May 14,2025

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Border Security Force (BSF) jawan Purnam Kumar Shaw who was in Pakistan’s custody since April 23, has been handed over to India. The BSF said in a statement that Shaw was handed over to India at 10:30 am through the Attari border check post in Amritsar. 

BSF stated that Shaw is being debriefed after his handover. 

The handover was conducted peacefully and in accordance with established protocols, said the force. 

"With the consistent efforts of BSF through regular flag meetings with Pakistan rangers and through other communication channels, the repatriation of BSF constable has become possible," said BSF. 

Shaw, a jawan of the 182nd Battalion, was detained by the Pakistan Rangers after he inadvertently crossed the International Border near Punjab’s Ferozepur. 

The jawan on duty was stationed near the border fence. He was in uniform and was carrying his service rifle, when he moved towards a shaded area for some rest. In doing so, he had crossed into Pakistani territory, where he was apprehended by the Pakistani Rangers. 

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