TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: Cavelossim witnessed uproar on Tuesday after agitated local tourist taxi operators registered their protest over the move of a starred hotel from introducing 12-seater contract tourist coaches.
While the hotel management has kept the proposal on hold after discussions with the agitated taxi operators, the taxi operators have threatened to take to the streets along with the local villagers if the hotel does not reconsider the decision to introduce the small seater contract coaches.
A joint meeting between the hotel management and the taxi operators is now scheduled on next Tuesday. The taxi operators have said that local MLA Caitu Silva and representatives of the Panchayat body will also be invited for the meeting.
Trouble began early Tuesday morning when the taxi operators raised objection to the hotel’s 12-seater contract coach from operating on grounds that small coaches will spell doom for the tourist taxi operators. They argued that the local taxi operators have invested huge money in premium vehicles such as Honda City and Innova’s and the small coaches would hit them the hardy way.
Leader of the local tourist taxi union Navidade Costa said the taxi operators along with the Cavelossim villagers will hit on the roads if the hotel does not reconsider its decision to introduce tourist coaches.
“There’s an agreement between the hotel management and the taxi operators that the latter would look after the transportation. We do not mind if the hotel owns big coaches, but certainly small coaches with 12-13 seating capacity would spell doom for us,” Costa told Herald after coming out from a meeting with the hotel management.
Tourist taxi leader and member of the state level core committee, Kennedy Goes has appealed to the Chief Minister to convene a meeting of the core committee to discuss and solve all pending issues of tourist taxi operators. “The Chief Minister is against hotels venturing into the transportation of tourists. I will request the CM to call a meeting of the Core Committee to discuss the issue”, Kennedy added.
South Goa Tourist taxi Association president Seby Fernandes said that introduction of small seater coaches is not acceptable to the tourist taxi operators.
Officials of the RTO and Colva police personnel rushed to Cavelossim as a precautionary measure and to avert any law and order problem.
