Lucknow, Sept. 24 -- Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said that before 2017, even taxi and three-wheeler drivers were vulnerable to attacks by criminal elements. Speaking at a programme organised to launch Bharat Taxi and Mukhyamantri Krishak Samriddhi Yojana here, he asked the state transport department to consider launching the rural bus service on the lines of Bharat Taxi as this would open employment opportunities for lakhs of youth. He gave directions in this regard to minister of state (independent charge) for transport Dayashankar Singh. Through Bharat Taxi, taxi, two-wheeler, and three-wheeler drivers can join with zero commission upon registration and get social security of Rs 5 lakh. "Before 2017, when people travelled in taxis or three-wheelers, they would not pay the fare. They would find that goons associated with the ruling party beat up the taxi driver, throwing him away, and disappearing with the taxi. They would scrap all the stolen vehicles in Meerut and change their chassis," he said. He contrasted this with the present situation, saying no one can indulge in theft now because 14 lakh CCTV cameras have been installed in the state. With Wednesday's event, Bharat Taxi began its operations in Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Prayagraj. The chief minister said memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were also signed with various institutions, including Lucknow Airport, Lucknow Metro and Lucknow Police. "No one had thought about taxi, two-wheeler and three-wheeler drivers earlier. Now, upon registration, they will become part of Bharat Taxi on zero commission and will receive social security of Rs. 5 lakh. With social security, a driver can carry out his work responsibly without worry. When a person gets Bharat Taxi written on his vehicle, he will feel a sense of pride. Bharat Taxi is not merely a taxi that transports passengers. It is the taxi service of the entire India, which will work to transform India's speed into progress," he said. About the Mukhyamantri Krishak Samriddhi Yojana, he said the farmers used to get loans from the Uttar Pradesh Cooperative Gramya Vikas Bank at an interest rate of 11%. He said this has been reduced to 6% now. He also said arrangements have been made for long-term loans, adding that a target has been set to provide its benefits to 5 lakh small and marginal farmers. He said his government had waived loans worth more than Rs 36,000 crore of 86 lakh small and marginal farmers in 2017 and completed long-pending irrigation projects. Yogi launched the e-portal of Mukhyamantri Krishak Samriddhi Yojana, the Urvarak Setu mobile app of the cooperation department and the UPCDC mobile app of the Uttar Pradesh Cooperative Database Center. He handed over share certificates of Bharat Taxi to five Saarathis and loan sanction letters to five beneficiaries of Mukhyamantri Krishak Samriddhi Yojana. Adityanath and Union minister of state for cooperation and civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol and other dignitaries flagged off Bharat Taxi on the occasion....