Team Herald
CALANGUTE: The North Goa Tourist Taxi Owners Association (NGTTOA) withdrew its ‘chakka jam’ after Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar assured that the file concerning the permits to non-Goan transport operators and their Goan counterparts would be sent back to the transport department.
At a press conference in the Calangute MLA’s office, NGTTOA President Vasudev Arlekar said, “We agitated over the transport department’s decision to grant permissions in bulk to travel operators and non-Goan businessmen for starting rent-a-cab services in Goa. We had decided to carry out a ‘chakka jam’ if the government did not reconsider the decision. We had also informed the government that if permits were granted in bulk, the future of Goan taxi owners would be doomed.”
as no taxi would be required by the tourists visiting Goa.”
He continued, “We are happy to announce that the Chief Minister has assured us in the presence of Calangute MLA Michael Lobo that no such permits will be granted for any rent-a-cab services and that he has decided to return the file with the remark ‘rent-a-cab file be taken back and stopped’.”
“We had also put forth two more demands regarding GPS and meters for the taxis. They will be discussed in a meeting to be held in due course of time. We have therefore decided to withdraw the ‘chakka jam’ stir, which was supposed to begin on Thursday,” added Arlekar.
NGTTOA Treasurer Sanjay Vengurlekar said, “We have no objection for installation of meters, but the fares notified in 2014 should also be implemented with immediate effect.”
The members rubbished the allegation of fleecing tourists and said the implementation of 2014 notification would resolve the issue once and for all.
Calangute MLA Michael Lobo said, “The decision of the Chief Minister to stop the registration of rent-a-cab services is very much right as the issue needs to be decided by taking everyone into confidence. The livelihood of the local people is at stake. The tourist-taxi owners are in the business for several years, and the taxi business has also generated employment for locals. Though the Motor Vehicles Acts provides an opportunity for rent-a-cab services, the same has been capped in Goa due to the state’s small size and lack of infrastructure. The Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) is yet to provide parking spaces for the tourist-taxi owners in the GTDC plots along Goa’s beaches.”
He added, “As for meters, there should be a shop in Goa so that the faulty meters can be replaced or repaired immediately. The notified point-to-point fares should also be implemented to benefit Goans. The traffic cell and transport department should also crack down on private cars. The Goan youth into private rent-a-cab services should go in for taxis as a means of self-employment.”
The South Goa Taxi Owners Association, led by its President Luis Fernandes, supported the decision of the NGTTOA.
