In yet another incident highlighting the menace of taxi harass ment in Goa’s tourist belt, a woman visitor from Ah medabad has alleged that she was blocked, threat ened and forced to walk in the rain with her luggage after local taxi operators refused to let her leave in an app-booked cab. The incident took place out side a well-known resort in Betalbatim on September 15, even as the State gov ernment claims to be in the final stages of introducing a taxi policy to rationalize the taxi trade in Goa.
The tourist, who had been in South Goa from September 11 to 15, said her otherwise pleasant trip ended on a ‘bitter note’ when local operators de manded inflated fares of Rs 3,500– Rs 4,000 for an airport drop that she said normally costs between Rs 1,500 and Rs 1,800. According to her, when the taxi she booked online arrived at the resort, local taxi operators harassed the driver, refused to allow the vehicle to move forward and stopped her from en tering. “It was raining, I was carrying my luggage, and they forced me to walk at least a few kilometres before I could reach anoth er spot to finally board a cab,” she recounted. In a video she later shared, she pointed to her drenched clothes and luggage and said the pur pose of recording it was to warn the public not to visit South Goa to avoid facing such clashes with local taxi operators.
She questioned whether this was the right message to be sending about tourism in South Goa if visitors could be treated in such a way. She alleged that when she attempted to call the police during the confron tation, the local operators began giving her ‘dham kis’ (warnings) and spoke rudely to her, despite her being a tourist. They then insisted she could not leave until the police arrived, re gardless of the fact that she had a flight to catch. “They had no right to stop me. I told them that if they held me back, they would have to take responsibility for sending my luggage to my home,” she said. The visitor strongly criticised the authorities, questioning why police and local officials contin ued to allow such conduct. “They have created a mo nopoly where tourists are left helpless, intimidated, and forced to pay exor bitant fees just to leave a hotel and get to where they want to go in the ab sence of other alternative self-booking taxi options.
I come from a family with police officers, and I am shocked at the silence of the authorities in allowing this,” she said. She also expressed dis appointment with her hotel, where she had paid between Rs 5,000 and Rs 6,000 per night, for not in tervening on her behalf and for washing their hands of the situation after she had checked out. “After spend ing so much, I expected the hotel to help me at least by taking me or my luggage to a point where I could get my cab. Instead, they tried to pacify the taxi operators rather than support me,” she remarked. According to her, this was not the first time she felt intimidated during her stay. The previous night, she and other women guests, including senior cit izens, were also harassed by the same operators. “They mocked the idea of calling the police and made us feel helpless,” she said. She added that she has travelled across India and previously visited North Goa but had never faced such problems elsewhere. What she described as the “goondagiri” type of be haviour outside the airport area, she said, was espe cially shocking.
Conflicts between traditional taxi operators and taxis booked online have been a recurring flashpoint in Goa, particularly along the coastal belt and at airports. Local operators have long alleged that online taxis flout rules and are not authorised to pick up guests directly from hotels or air ports where traditional stands have existed for years. In the past, they have denied accusations of harassment, insisting they are defending their live lihoods. Operators of online-booked taxis, however, have argued that they have valid permissions and the right to conduct business. The matter has esca lated repeatedly in recent years, with both groups holding protests, ap proaching police stations, and filing counter-complaints. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has previously said that “no one can physically stop a tourist from entering a taxi of their choice,” but inci dents like this suggest that enforcement remains weak. The State gov ernment’s Transport Department is set to release draft taxi guidelines aimed at addressing such issues. Local taxi operators have been vehe mently opposing these guidelines on the grounds that they would allow the entry of app-based taxis, which in turn would deprive them of their traditional livelihood.