The withdrawal of the bus service has dashed the hopes of people from Belgaum region, who had hoped to use the affordable bus services to visit the tourist spots in Goa.

It may be recalled that NWKRTC authorities had commenced its one-day 39-seater ‘Rajhansa’ luxury bus trip to Goa, enabling tourists to visit six destinations in Goa, including the places of religious importance like Mangueshi, Shantadurga temple and the Basilica of Bom Jesus.

The bus service was launched following rising demand from the poor, middle-class and senior citizens of Belgaum. NWKRTC authorities had commenced its bus service with a reasonable fare of Rs 500 (Rs 385 for senior citizens) for a day’s trip to Goa and back.

However, immediately after the first trip, the NWKRTC authorities received a notice from the Transport department of Goa reportedly demanding Rs 6,000 tax per trip. The dejected authorities had to suspend the bus service and due to non-cooperation from Goan authorities, the bus service had to be finally called off.

Blaming Goan authorities for their uncooperative stand, a senior official on the condition of anonymity told Herald, “Deliberations were in progress, but senior Goa officials seemed too busy to attend to our officials as they kept citing one reason or the other. The bus service was meant for mutual benefit and would have certainly helped boost the tourism industry in Goa.”

“However, we are disappointed and despite the rising demand from people of Belgaum, we are forced to call off the service permanently,” the official added.

Meanwhile, former president of Belgaum Chamber of Commerce and Industries Satish Tendolkar, who had earlier met Director for Transport Arun Desai in this regard, said he is still hopeful of a positive outcome.

“We hope to resolve the issue so that a large number of people from Belgaum region can get an opportunity to visit Goa,” said Desai.