Team Herald
PANJIM: In a retaliatory move, the South Goa bus and tempo operators along with Raikar on Saturday met Margao PI Tulshidas Naik and lodged a complaint against utterances made by Cavelossim sarpanch Dixon Vaz and Yogesh Govekar.
The moves comes after the taxi operators launched a gherao on the Colva Police Station on Friday, demanding an FIR against Parag Raikar, who they alleged, used some defamatory remarks against them.
Speaking to mediapersons outside the Margao Town Police Station, Raikar said that Vaz had no taxis, but was protecting his vote bank in the coastal belt, while Govekar too was not a taxi operator, but was acting as their agent in the coastal belt of North Goa. “Govekar is a commission agent of the taxi operators,” Raikar charged.
In his complaint, Raikar said that there is danger to his life following threats by taxi operators.
The tourist bus operators claimed that they too had the same licence and permits as tourist taxi operators to pick up passengers from anywhere across the State and demanded that the police initiate action against the taxi operators and those supporting their illegal act.
They said that they were doing business legally and were going to pick up passengers only after bookings unlike taxi operators.
The South Goa bus and tempo traveller operators refused to accept taxi operators’ grievance that they were not getting adequate bookings, and sought to know how they were purchasing luxury cars.
Moses Savio Pereira from Margao said that the taxi operators were stopping their vehicles when they had permits and prior bookings. “Why are they stopping our vehicles and threatening our drivers? You cannot compare our buses with taxis. We have 30 and 40-seater buses, while a maximum of five passengers can be accommodated in a taxi. It is the customers' choice and we have repeat customers. Our complaints are registered as non-cognisable cases and there is no further progress by police,” rued Pereira.
The South Goa bus and tempo traveller operators further demanded that the government ensure ‘one permit, one taxi’ rule and put an end to ‘dadagiri’ by taxi operators.
They also informed that they will meet Margao MLA Digambar Kamat and appeal to him to resolve the issue.