Boatmen protest against water taxis in Varanasi

River cruise on the Ganges had to be cancelled on Tuesday, July 11, after boatmen blocked the waterway at Assi Ghat with their country boats. Their apprehension is not entirely misplaced though Varanasi is said to have as many as 84 Ghats serviced till now by 1,500 country boats, each requiring four pairs of hands and thus providing direct employment to around six thousand boatmen.

Currently, there are three river cruises conducted each day from Ravidas Ghat to Namo Ghat and back with 100 seats available on each trip. The latest unrest has been caused by the arrival of 10 more mechanised water-taxis. With the administration having successfully concluded trial runs and having fixed the fare, the boatmen’s agitation has acquired renewed urgency.

The administration has offered to give priority to the boatmen for operating the water taxis and submit tenders. But with no prior consultation with them, the offer has generated scepticism. “It is so convenient for officials to say that we too can run the water taxis,” says Pramod Manjhi, president of the boatmen’s association, “but they know very well that we neither have the money power nor the expertise to run water taxis.” Moreover, traditionally the boatmen have catered to both the poorer sections as well as the affluent. But faster and more comfortable water taxis threaten to take away the affluent tourists and devotees from country boats, they are afraid.

While officials led by the District Magistrate S. Rajalingam finally persuaded the boatmen to call off their protest late on Tuesday evening, but only after the cruises were cancelled for the day, they also held out a veiled threat to the boatmen. Officials told them that complaints that their boats are often overloaded would henceforth invite punitive measures. The boatmen were also warned that they would no longer be allowed to repair the boats on the rive banks and ghats, clogging the pathways.

On 6 July, aggrieved boatmen had called for a strike, which received a partial response. Kashi and Varanasi’s boatmen, though small, poor and marginalised, are identified with the holy city. They are credited with saving large number of visitors from drowning over the years. But their days do seem to be numbered.

Not surprisingly, there is simmering anger among some of them who feel cheated. They had wholeheartedly welcomed Narendra Modi when he contested the election from Varanasi in 2014. The prime ministerial candidate had then included a boatman from the Nishad community as one of his proposers. But while the community was wooed then by the BJP and Modi himself, their interests, they say, have been ignored since then.

Development of Varanasi as a tourism hub and renovation of the Kashi corridor and the temples have received the support of most of the people. The number of tourists have grown and have contributed to the city’s economy, they say and welcome the introduction of water taxis as one more convenience and tourist attraction.

But there are stray voices like the owner of an eatery at Assi Ghat, who feel that the ‘Gujarat’ model of development for the rich and the affluent being imitated in Varanasi has hit the poor. The gods, he believes, will not approve.

Speaking on the incident, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav took to Twitter: "In Kashi, the people of Machhua-Nishad-Kashyap community blocked the route of the cruise by forming a 'boat-circle' to protest against the attack on their traditional livelihood by the BJP government and gave a direct message that this community will not let the ruling BJP cross the next elections."