Team Herald
PANJIM: Stakeholders in the tourism industry feel that those who have been given permission by the government to carry on the aggregator business should be allowed to do so legally. Customers should be given freedom of choice. Any breakdown of law and order should be dealt with firmly, TTAG said.
Parag Raikar, a taxi aggregator Raikar said, “I want to ask the Benaulim MLA, when he says there should be freedom for people to pick up passengers anywhere, why are app taxi aggregators not allowed to pick up passengers in Benaulim and Varca? All I’m asking is that is the Benaulim constituency in India or Pakistan? The permit given by the Transport Department says that they can pick up passengers anywhere. On the video it is very clear that their driver is asking for Rs 1,000 fee. Whose hafta is this? They should clarify this.” Is hafta going to the panchayat members or to the MLA? he asked and alleged that the tourist taxi drivers were drinking and driving and police should do breath analyser tests on them.
Infuriated by these utterances, the Tourist Taxi operators gheraoed the Colva Police Station on Friday and demanded that an FIR be filed against Parag Raikar.
A tourist taxi operator asked what authority Parag Raikar had to make such allegations.
The taxi driver said, “Parag Raikar has shifted from Goa Miles and has started his own app. He should not have said that tourist taxi drivers are drunkards. We are all hurt.”
Another tourist taxi driver said that the police should take action against tourist taxi drivers if they are drunk. This video has gone viral throughout the world and it will spoil the name of Goan taxi drivers.
TTAG president Jack Sukhija, said, “My association stand was very clear, If someone has been given permission to be an aggregator and he is doing business lawfully, customer should always have choice. It’s not good if a customer is stopped from going out of his hotel and hire a cab.”
He said, “Any such incident, is a breakdown in law and order and the government should act very strongly against someone who is not allow people to do business which he is entitled to.”
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, while talking on the Mopa taxi issues had clearly stated that the taxi protest had been politicised, implying he knew who was behind it. Sections of MLAs too have been supporting the taxi operators.
“All MLAs had agreed including the leader of opposition to have an aggregator app. MLAs had also agreed to do away with the metres and give them app-based metres. The way they are talking it appears this protest is completely politically motivated, especially since they are targeting the CM. I can clearly see that this is politically motivated.” he had stated.