Demand for ban on Russian reps working in the State
TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: Russian organisations connected with Goa’s tourism industry are reportedly gearing up for upcoming tourism season in the State by advertising jobs for guides, claim tourist taxi owners operating along Salcete’s coastal belt.
But in Goa, they lament, the State government is yet to either unveil the tourism policy keeping in mind the interests of local stakeholders or work out a solution to their long-pending issues facing the tourist taxi operators.
As the State is bracing up for a new tourism season, local tourist taxi owners and operators down South appear an aggrieved lot with the Manohar Parrikar government not fulfilling the promises to work out a solution to their issues.
Says tourist taxi operator, Jorge Fernandes: “Just go on the website and you will find hectic preparations underway in Russia for appointments to work as guides for hotels in Goa. Our government should protect the interests of the local tourist taxi operators. Nothing has been done since the last few months to resolve our basic problems.”
He continued: “If the Digambar Kamat government did nothing to protect the interests of tourist taxi operators, the Parrikar dispensation has only given hopes and promises. The ground reality remains unchanged. The government should work out a mechanism to protect our interests.”
He lamented that the tourist taxi operators had one meeting with the Chief Minister before IFFI and another one in December, but nothing has moved except for correspondence with the authorities.
President of South Goa Tourist Taxi Owners Association, Seby Fernandes, echoed similar sentiments. “What we have received from this government are only promises. Except for the notification on the fares for tourist taxi operators, none of the other demands of the local tourist taxi operators have been fulfilled. “We had asked for a counter, besides parking at the hotels. We had also demanded displaying the notified tariff rates in the hotels, but in vain,” Seby said.
Association general secretary Uday Malvankar pointed out that Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had promised action within a week’s time after the joint meeting with TTAG on December 5, 2012. “The CM had suggested to us to have a meeting with TTAG and work out a solution. We had meetings, but no solution has come forth. And the government’s promised action has also not materialised till date,” he lamented. Uday and other tourist taxi operators contended that the government should bar Russians reps from working in the state. “When Tourism Director Nikhil Desai had suggested to us to learn Russian, we were open to the suggestion. But the Russian classes are yet to take off,” he rued.
