Mangaluru : Taxi drivers, who had logged off from mobile transport aggregator Ola’s service for the past one week, laid siege to the office of the company here after talks between them and the company failed.

Under the banner of the Dakshina Kannada District Online Taxi Drivers and Owners’ Association, the drivers brought down the shutters of the office and symbolically locked it. Association president B.K. Imtiyaz said that the company should not put drivers to discomfort.

More than 200 drivers were lured with the offer of Rs. 32,000 per month for hatchback and Rs. 36,000 a month for sedan on clocking minimum 3,000 km when Ola started operations in March. After the operations stabilised, the company changed the rate card with minimum fare of Rs. 49 for first 2 km and Rs. 10 for subsequent km, the drivers were unable to earn even Rs. 700 a day, he said.

Meanwhile, G.S. Hegde, Assistant Regional Transport Officer, Mangaluru, told The Hindu that the department had arranged a meeting between the company and the drivers recently following a direction by the Deputy Commissioner. It was noticed that the agreement between the drivers and Ola were not within the ambit of the Motor Vehicles Act and it was a contract.

In such a situation, the government had very little do. Still, the department had advised Ola to resolve the issue without inconveniencing the drivers, Mr. Hegde said.