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Melbourne cabbies call off strike after 22 hours
Published on Thu, May 01, 2008 at 04:46 in 
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HATE CRIME? Melbourne Police have not given a reason for the stabbing of the Indian cab driver.
New Delhi: Indian taxi drivers have called off their 22-hour strike protesting the stabbing of an indian taxi driver. They called off their strike after australian authorities promised cameras for taxi interiors and pre-payment of fares for late night commuting.
On the basis of pictures captured by a camera inside a taxi, Melbourne Police arrested Charles Parrish on the charge of stabbing an Indian taxi driver. The police have not given a reason for that, though.
It further appears that Parrish may also have had an accomplice. He has been produced in court
The cabbie was found early on Tuesday morning on a Melbourne street bleeding from multiple stab wounds, the taxi he was driving was found a few hundred meters ahead. Hospitalised, his condition is now stable.
Meanwhile, Melbourne's 300-odd Indian cabbies are angry and upset and went on strike, threatening to blockade Melbourne Airport.
Traffic was completely disrupted, as a result.
“Normally I would be up there in twenty minutes, now it will take me forty minutes,” said a commuter, while another added, “It is a bit frustrating.”
The strike was later called off but the cabbies say repeated requests to the authorities for safety screens for taxi drivers have been ignored.
They say attacks on taxi drivers of Indian origin have been increasing. Two years ago a cabbie was killed in a vicious attack in an eastern suburb of Melbourne.
Melbourne is home to more than 35,000 Indian students. While most are doing well and are secure, others have been abused, attacked and robbed.
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