Panjim: All Goa Private Bus Owners Association on Sunday condemned the government 's decision to run electirc buses in the capital city of Panjim by replacing the existing vehicle and threatened to approach the Court if the decision is not rolled back.
Addressing a press conference, All Goa Private Bus Owners Association General Secretary Sudeep Tamhankar said, “Around 15 objections were filed before the Transport Secretary after the draft notification was issued. We were optimistic that the government would take a decision after having consultations with us. But it is sad that till date, we have neither been called for a meeting individually nor collectively.”
“We met Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and he had assured us that he would not allow the new buses to run without meeting us. But suddenly he has made the announcement that the buses will be operated from April 1. He said that the government has given us three options. But we are not aware of that and we do not know to whom the government has given the options,” he said.
Tamhankar said, “Now the final notification has been issued. We condemn the decision of the government as it will not only hit the bus operators but also those who are dependent on other services association to that. It appears that the ruling government has got much confidence in the EVMs and that is why it is taking any decision without consulting anyone.”
Alleging that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is only ‘bluffing’ the people, he said the association would be forced to approach the court if the decision is not rolled back.
Prashant Naik, a bus operator, slamming the government, said,''This government is totally careless. We bus operators know how we are running the business. We pay advance taxes to run the buses. In spite of we paying taxes, the roads are not in proper condition. Have we done anything wrong?. We are providing service to the people. It is surprising that the new buses will be operated by Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited (KTCL) which is already running in losses. Why were our buses passed by the RTO when we had to run them on other routes?.''
''Now it appears that we have no options but to park our vehicles at home and approach the court to seek justice,'' he said.
Recently, Transport Department notified running of a fleet of 60 buses owned by Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited (KTCL) in and around the capital city of Panjim under the Smart City project.
The notification issued on March 11, 2024, routes covered by the buses are from Panjim Bus Stand to Miramar, Dona Paula, Caranzalem, Bambolim, Goa University, Cujira, Taleigao, St Inez, St Cruz and Altinho.