PANJIM: In a long list of counter allegations against Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), All Goa Taxi Owners have denied the allegations against them regarding violence at a film shoot and have challenged TTAG to an open debate on the charges levelled against the local taxi community.
They also say it was the local taxi owners and villagers who were assaulted by a film crew and not the other way round and questioned why the police did not act on their complaint and instead threw their leaders in jail. They, however, insisted that film producers should have consulted the local taxi owners before bringing taxis from outside the State.
While addressing the media persons on Tuesday, the taxi union leaders condemned the statements made against them at the recent media briefing by TTAG and Goa Line Producers Association and also accused TTAG of being corrupt.
They made it clear that they never opposed film shoots and pointed out that on one hand, they were denied permission to protest citing Section 144 CrPC, but on the other hand, film shoots across Goa have 150-250 people in one location, flouting prevailing government’s SOPs.
Taxi union leader Laxman ‘Bappa’ Korgaonkar said they were only enquiring along with the local villagers as to how such shoots are taking place and added that there were COVID deaths in that village. He accused the film shoot organisers of cooking up a false story against them.
Another taxi union leader Sunil Naik, who along with Korgaonkar were the ones arrested, expressed concern about the possibility of the people at these shoots, who had travelled from Mumbai, causing the spread of COVID to increase in the State.
While Naik called for a lockdown to be imposed, taxi union leader Chetan Kamat and others accused TTAG of not representing any Goan stakeholder like shack owners, restauranteurs and taxi owners.
They also accused TTAG of being the one who are fleecing tourists and thereby ruining the image of Goa.