Unions carry baggage of lost luggage
Ever wondered what might happen to the things that are mistakenly left behind when travelling in an auto or a taxi? Interestingly, even the supposed beneficiaries are not keen on holding on to the leftovers and leave them at the taxi or auto unions’ offices where over a 1,000 bags have been gathering dust for over four to five years. The efforts to dispose them of to a few orphanages or trusts also seem to have gone in vain. Ultimately, these bags are slowly becoming a cause of concern for the office bearers of these unions, as the issue is one that is never-ending.
“I am happy that our honest taxi drivers have returned the bags with valuables, but these unwanted bags are now creating a problem for us and making it difficult to operate our day-to day business, as its owners have failed to collect it. The police also does not take any interest in these bags in a bid to avoid making a panchnama. So we tried to give it to two orphanages in Byculla and Dadar, but the trustees also refused to take it. Now, we think we are simply going to give it to beggars; we don’t have any options left, ” said A.L. Quadros, general secretary of Mumbai Taximen’s Union. This union alone has collected around 500 bags. “When a bag lands in our office, we open and check it, remove the perishable items and store it, and then wait for the rightful owner to come and collect it. If we find an address on it, then we even call them to come and collect it,” added Mr Quadros.
Prem Singh, president, of Mumbai Taxi Association also suggested a donation of these bags to beggars. He said, “Over the last three to four years, we have collected around 350 bags and these are now causing us inconvenience, but we can not just destroy it like scrap.”
The autorickshaw drivers’ union, however, has managed to avoid this problem by refusing to take in these valuables. “When autorickshaw drivers approach our union office to return bags or laptops, we advise them to go to the nearest police station and leave them there,” said Shashank Rao, president of the Mumbai Autorickshawmen Union.
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