[jaysmokesleaves]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

Sorry but I would disagree with your thinking. Cannot beat fire with fire. Only leads to aggravating the already bad scenario and can have much worse implications than what has already happened.

I agree to disagree. Some fires are put out by fires. Another option is to have enough people in a convoy of cars to round up these miscreants, tie them up and put them in a lorry and take them to the local police and get them arrested. This entire operation to be done in the presence of the media and to ensure it goes viral.
Im sure there are enough number of well connected and powerful people in Delhi/Chandigarh/ North India to come up with something effective. Thereafter this can become a national movement which will prevent other destinations from becoming prey to taxi mafias.

[karavadi143]

This is a very sad state. The taxi union does not realise that if they continue this hooligism, people will stop driving to ladakh in their private vehicles for sure. But in long term they will stop visiting this place altogether and the taxi union will have to beg for a livelihood.

[bullrun87]

That was a truly scary incident. I hope no one in the convoy was hurt. I fail to understand why the mafia has gone to the extent of trying to physically assault tourists. Its not as if tourists in private/ self driven vehicles do not contribute to the ladakhi economy. They stay in hotels and eat their food. They have to understand that some tourists just want to drive in ladakh and these people will not visit if they cant drive there. Even people who are otherwise willing to rent taxis in ladakh will be too scared to visit after hearing of incidents such as this. As far as I know I live in a free country and no one should have the power to restrict me or deter me from driving my car to a particular area. If such unruly behavior by the taxi mafia persists, sooner or later people like me are bound to stop going to ladakh altogether. Did you try to talk to higher ups in the district administration like SP/ DM? If not, do so right now. Did the cops refuse to register your FIR?

[MSC]

This is totally unacceptable. In your own country you can't go in your own vehicle now. And guess what? There was a tourism advertising some time back that an old lady helped a foreigner with a tag line "atithi devo bhawa". That advertisement was shot in leh if I am not wrong.
Now they're stoning their gods? Its better to save some money and go to some foreign location. At least you wont get stoned there.
Police wont act much because they get their share of pie from taxi operators.
Better look elsewhere now.

[drivebyfire]

This is extremely alarming and distressing !!

My tickets to Leh are already booked and I will be transporting my motorcycle to Chandigarh while my friend will rent a motorcycle from Chandigarh.

This is seriously making me question my safety. Sure its the taxi union which has gone berserk but what if some group of motorcycle renters follow suit?

No way I am cancelling my plans. However will be following these developments with a keen eye.

[SwatiS]

Originally Posted by ashnd

I have an unfortunate first-hand experience to share. We have just returned from our Leh Ladakh trip yesterday.

Thats a harrowing experience. I am glad you are all safe but I would like to know who discouraged you from filing a FIR? As suggested by many others, do make this news viral on FB and twitter. Not all are members of Team BHP. We need to stop visiting Ladakh so that the mafia understands the consequence to the locals.

Originally Posted by mi2n

I do harbor a view that we need to be more afraid of our own countrymen than say the Chinese or Pakistanis. Incidents like these further strengthens such thoughts. If me or my family were targets of such attacks and the criminals went unpunished by the law, I would make sure to atleast send a strong message across to the offenders which would atleast act as a deterrent. Maybe beat up the Kashmiri Shawl-wala, burn his belongings and parcel him back home in a stretcher. Yes, I know, I would be getting the "eye for an eye" sermons, but ultimately, it will just be self defence. If you do not stop the hooligans in their own yard today, they will dance on your yard tomorrow.

I agree with the first part where we say we need to be afraid of our own countrymen. At times like these, I question myself if I am really proud to be an Indian afterall?
But I dont agree with the part about beating up the local Kashmiri guy. It was not his fault at all. If someone has to be punished, its the local mafia not the person who is in some other part of the world. This is how riots start.

Originally Posted by joshiviv

This is really unfortunate and shameful, and it seems like the local administration doesn't really give a damn. If someone had done this kind of behavior with a foreign tourist especially a western one, I am sure their embassies/diplomats would have complained and local administration would have taken action and punished the perpetrators.
It is sad to see that we take our citizen's for granted in their own country.

Exactly!!! We value foreigners more than locals. This is a problem with our MSM. But we have social media to spread the message.

Originally Posted by amolpol

A very unfortunate event to happen in the otherwise humble region. The only respite being that nobody was hurt in the attack else it could have been even worse.

Originally Posted by Rajain

Such a shame to the common citizens and population of peaceloving Ladakh. Just because some travellers brought rented cars and drove around. This is ridiculous.

In my couple of visits, including the most recent last year I did not experience any animosity anywhere. Thankfully we had our own car.

However, looks like the taxi mafia has grown stronger. First a few years ago they had started to say taxis coming from Manali cannot drive around and they can only deposit travellers in Leh and go back. Now those in car rentals are being targeted. Do they really want international and local travellers in Ladakh at all or not.

What is the local administration doing - DC and SP - they should have known that there can be unruly cowards trying to target travellers. Come to think of it if this incident had taken place somewhere remote and someone would have been injured seriously - imagine how far was the nearest hospital. Imagine the comfort of your car no longer being available due to someone smashing the windscreen. Imagine no spare parts being available until Srinagar/Jammu/Ludhiana or Manali/Mandi/Chandigarh. Imagine trying to explain to your family (or even traumatized kid) why this happened ad how close were you to the protestors ad broke glass/stones.

What these folks don't realise is just to garner some small business they maybe doing themselves greater harm. Hundreds (or maybe thousand or even more) travellers will be discouraged to drive. What does that do to the economy of the smaller towns whose economy is dependent on travellers in the 4-5 months roads are open.

Under Article 19 The Constitution of India ensures Right to Freedom - Freedom to move freely throughout the territory of India. One certainly understands some local restrictions (such as to curb spread of epidemics etc) but this is outrageous.

For so many years Ladakh region had largely closed doors - need inner line permits. But only last year the administration relaxed that. Perhaps to put a friendly face to the thousands of travellers. If the administration cannot curb this hooliganism then their reputation can be seriously hurt and the fragile economy shaken.

The news, video (if any) pictures need to go viral, they need to reach MHA, MEA, the offices of the Hill Council and even the PMO.

For all of us who love Leh - please do your bit in spreading the word of this incident and making sure the administration clamps down on this hooliganism.

I so agree with you. I had a lot of respect for Ladakhis after meeting them. My local taxi guy as well as the owners of the guest house where we stayed were such wonderful people that I always told everyone I loved LAdakh and Ladakhis but hated Srinagar which we visited later.

But I wonder if the self drive cars had not become popular, and more nd more people had started taking their own cars out there, would this situation still arise? Probably yes but maybe after another few years. Or is it possible that in this way they will discourage Indians from visiting Ladakh so that more foreigners can visit who would obviously pay more and since they would not have their own cars in our country, they would have to hire the local taxi. Just a thought.

But really a shame on Atithi Devo Bhava :(

[Shivanshu]

Wow this is simply unbelievable. Roaming around in hills I have heard some instance where these Taxi guys have gone rogue, but that happened with the Tourist also being at fault. But this incidence is something as if you going to some Mafia Infested area. The way they had planned to block the convoy and then harm the property and even the people inside. This is a simple case of planned attack leading to damage of property & life. This is simply not acceptable. Yes we do respect the people their and appreciate their hospitality but it doesn't mean that we can be taken for granted. We are wanderers looking for places which gives us peace and eternity, and we all know how to find it, if not Leh their are still other unknown and untouched places where we can find our solitude.

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by ashnd

We were discouraged from registering an FIR

This is what irks me the most. Why can't the police control the Taxi Mafia? Because the police is scared for his own family.

The Taxi people should remember that their income is purely due to tourists and such incidents repels tourists from Leh/Ladakh.

It's such a sad incident when tourists are being attacked due to driving self-drive vehicles. The central government has to step in and find a solution.

Perhaps let the Taxi drivers drive freely(without border tax) in the neighboring state during off season to generate revenue?

There's another difficult way: Prevent people from travelling in the next peak season so that region doesn't earn money and the local turn against the taxi mafia as they have created ugly incidents like these.

[noidea]

Isn't this terrible ?!!
I had everything ready fora self driven trip to Ladakh this September. But now it seems I will have to put things on hold indefinitely.

[couswheels]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Buddy please share video, pictures what ever you have. We should make this viral, STOP going there altogether and make this known, so that other tourist dependent livelihoods [hotels etc] will force them to reconsider..

Sheel - I second your thought and would not be visiting Ladakh until the taxi Union is rein in. Violence should be given in a fitting reply only this way- have to hit them back where it hits them hard - livelihood.

[humyum]

In this country, no one is scared of the law. NO ONE, that is the main reason anyone has the buttons to do anything and everything without fear of consequences. Try the same thing in UK or Australia, you will be behind bars before you can smell the next day's coffee.

What you have faced is a very unfortunate situation, the definition of democracy is slowly diminishing in our country with individual states coming out with their own rules to suit their own interests curtailing the concept of India further more.

The army should step in and whip and kick whoever touches any outside car in J/K as anyone has the free right to travel anywhere in this country, J/K or anything in it is not someone's fathers property. If they can't match their business model for tourists to hire them instead of driving their own cars or driving self driven rentals, its their fault and loss ultimately.

Hiring a taxi for a single day trip to Pangong Lake from Leh, which is 120 km single way and 240 kilometers both ways costs around 8 thousand rupees, which is truly exorbitant. Fill in some other journey's from Leh to areas like Diskit, Hunder, Khardung La, some monasteries 100 km from Leh, along with local sight seeings and you are looking at an easy 30 to 35 k in taxi fares while your stay in Leh.

Compare that with the 22 to 23 grand including toll we spent in driving to Leh from Mumbai and back in my Swift Diesel with double the fun and excitement of driving all the way till there, I rather drive my own car, gives me start and scoot freedom too.

[tbppjpr]

Number of taxis increased in uncontrolled manner and now situation is that business is not enough to feed every taxi owner in that region now. So what to do? How to get more business and more money? Stop the out-state taxis, rental cars and personal vehicles or etc. to enter in the region.

First they started attacking rental cars, now they are not leaving even the private vehicles. This was bound to happen since they already got succeeded in their 'illegal' mission against the renal cars and nobody stopped them.

[Bigzero]

Cutting the branch one is sitting on .. or killing the golden goose ... whichever way one looks at this, it looks like absolute stupidity from the Taxi mafia. A history of violence or unwelcome locals is the last thing a tourist wants, and if Ladakh picks up a reputation like that, one would see the tourist traffic dwindling. Maybe they dont care, maybe they have political patronage, who knows.

A combination of tact and force will be required on the part of the administration to set this right quickly - however I suspect they have either the will or competence to do that..

Truly sad state of affairs!

[zipperone]

Shocking and sad. We should spread this far and wide and share all over social media. Also boycott the region completely for a year and pledge that no one goes to Ladakh. This should rob them of their earnings and force them to beg and they deserve it. Time to teach them a lesson. I know some of the folks who were attacked and I am shocked. This is a violation of the fundamental rights and the right to free movement within the country. Those attacked are the same folks who rushed help and people when Leh was washed away by a recent cloud burst. Tourist contributions are the main source of income and let's pull them plug for a year and force them to their knees!

[WD-42]

Originally Posted by drivebyfire

while my friend will rent a motorcycle from Chandigarh.

No way I am cancelling my plans. However will be following these developments with a keen eye.

Dude!!!!! Not a good idea at all!!!

Just in case you aren't already aware. They have the same retarded rule for bikes:

http://devilonwheels.com/india/ladak...akh-t1009.html

http://devilonwheels.com/india/ladak...2014-t954.html

You can google more reports on the same. Your (friend's) current plan might invite the wrath of the bike rental cartel in Leh who are probably now only emboldened by the stand taken by the taxi mafia.