Failure to rein in roguish taxi operators is making Goa give India a bad name

The dadagiri & goondagiri of the taxi union in Mormugao, in driving away cruise tourists about to board their buses to go sightseeing, will have a massive negative impact not just on Goa but India.

For international tourist cruises, the Goa part is an Indian port and their horrible experience is an Indian experience.

How will Goa explain this to Prime Minister Modi? We have been named and shamed and Goa’s credibility as a tourist destination has been buried.

Before we proceed, let us remind our readers that the ‘dadagiri’ (a phrase used by none other than Goa’s Chief Minister) of the taxi lobby has been a continuous process. From refusing to install digitals meters or at least belting out excuses after excuses not to do it, to threatening even relatives of guests at private hotels coming to pick them up to stopping buses and thrashing tourists, they have done it all.

On Wednesday, December 14, another thorn was added to this crown of shame. As reported only by Herald, an international cruise ship, Ocean Odyssey, one of the three docked at the Mormugao Ports Authority, made arrangements for its passengers to go sightseeing in Goa for the day before returning to their ship. The fact that three cruises docked at Goa on the same day itself was a feather in the cap of Goa’s tourism. But this optimism turned into a nightmare in a matter of hours. 

In a series of mini incidents as a part of one ugly episode which has probably drilled one of the final nails in Goa’s tourism coffin, the local taxi union leader Omkar stopped the buses from entering the Yellow Gate of the MPT (Now MPA) saying he wouldn’t allow this as the local taxis needed business.

Let us pause to understand the audacity of this act. This was a pre-booked excursion where the shore excursion agent parenting with the cruise ship had arranged for four buses to take the cruise passengers on a day-long excursion. The buses, as always, were to enter MPT premises to pick up the passengers. How does a local taxi union have the authority or gumption to stop those buses?

The lawyers will certainly enter into this because these are international cruises and they won’t let their reputation take a hit due to a local taxi union’s dadagiri. But this is a fit case for acute harassment and inconvenience and threatening behaviour faced by elderly tourists. 

When the buses had to be parked far away as the excursion agent “pleaded” with the Mormugao police to let the buses take the passengers and go, many elderly tourists were seen walking in the distance with their walking sticks. And when there was no solution with the “dadagiri” of the taxi union prevailing over the police and the excursion agent, the elderly tourists were seen trudging back.

This image can be labeled  with just one word – SHAME

Is this the image that the team handling the G 20 summit to be hosted by India with the world’s leaders coming to India’s door? Will the Chief Secretary of Goa have an explanation if the Sherpa (head) of G 20 Amitabh Kant seeks an explanation when this matter is escalated with the Ministry of External Affairs by countries like the US (the cruise liner is registered in the US).

Is this possible without the support of Goa politicians?

Since this incident happened in Mormugao, can the minister from the taluka, Mauvin Godinho, explain why we haven’t heard of him condemning the harassment of international tourists and the reported assault on the driver of one of the coaches parked to ferry the cruise tourists to sight-seeing  spots in Goa?

Can Mormugao MLA Sankalp Amonkar explain why there is no statement saying that taxi unions will not be allowed to get away with this muscle-flexing? 

It is well-known that local taxi operators are seen as votes. But are these votes more important than the reputation of Goa internationally? The Union Government and the Prime Minister will not tolerate this.

It is sad that it took three international cruise companies who have not only threatened never to come to Inda but spread the word to all other cruise liners, for the Government to get into a huddle. 

The tourism environmemt will take an alarming business hit.

But the image of Goa cannot be rescued with knee-jerk assurances. There is a threat of the Goa port being black listed by cruise companies. This is not an empty phrase. It means that once black listed, cruise liners will not come to Goa for six years. And it took one “dadagiri” of a taxi union person to damage Goa. 

But this is not a one-off incident. This is a part of the experience that many tourists have faced. 

Once Goa loses high quality tourism what will it be left with? Tourists who drive jeeps on beaches or cook by the roadside?

Goa is infested with those who cook and defecate by the roadside and litter beaches. High-end tourists are in any case moving further away and many prefer to avoid Goa altogether.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has sent a strong message that he won’t tolerate “dadagiri”. He has an opportunity to translate this message into action. Because this is beyond votes or Goa. 

The responsibility to resurrect Goa and India’s image in the eyes of international tourists lies in the CM’s hands.