Team Herald
MARGAO: Even as the taxi issue at the Konkan Railway Station is all set to be resolved on Saturday the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress Party appear caught in a struggle to claim credit for the same with the BJP hailing Chandan Naik for it while Digambar Kamat claiming it is due to his raising the matter in the Assembly.
Briefing media persons BJP’s Sharmad Raiturkar announced that the PWD minister Sudin Davalikar was scheduled to inaugurate the taxi stand on Malbhat side of the KRC Margao station at a function to be held on Saturday.
He said the tourist taxi owners have been given 60 days time to convert their vehicles to black and yellow taxis and use the taxi stand where altogether 43 taxis will be permitted to operate on rotation basis with 13 being on call at a time.
“It is thanks to the strong stand taken by RTA member Chandan Naik that such a solution similar to the one at Dabolim airport could be worked out,” he said adding that the tourist taxi owners have agreed to change their vehicles to black and yellow taxi model.
The new guidelines for permits will not be made applicable to these taxis as they are old taxis, said Sharmad while admitting not knowing how many tourist taxis and how many black and yellow taxis are operating there.
Meanwhile, former chief minister and Margao MLA Digambar Kamat said the solution has come about only after he raised the matter in the assembly on July 26, 2017 and was assured by on the floor of the house that a solution would be worked out to give the taxi owners a stand on that side of the railway station.
