TEAM HERALD
bureau@herald-goa.com
CALANGUTE: Protesting against the operation of tours by Russian representatives along the Calangute coast, the North Goa Tourist Taxi Owners and Drivers Association stopped three minibuses carrying Russian tourists at Calangute in the wee hours of Monday.
Tension prevailed at the Calangute police station for some time, before Calangute legislator Michael Lobo rushed to the site to diffuse the tension.
The agitating tourist taxi owners stopped three minibuses involved in ferrying foreign tourists for sightseeing, etc. and forced the vehicles to proceed towards the Calangute police station in the wee hours of Monday to demand action against the Russian representatives.
Lobo pacified the agitating tourist taxi operators and invited them for talks with Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and officials concerned on Tuesday to resolve the issue.
“We observed tourist mini buses picking up foreign guests from their respective hotels and we followed them to different hotels. We then stopped the vehicles near a resort at Naikka Vaddo, Calangute, and forced the vehicles to proceed to the police station,” said a tourist taxi operator at the police station.
“The Russian representatives and others have been eating into our business by arranging special tours for their tourists in Goa, especially in the coastal belt of Calangute. If they are allowed to continue in the tour business, how are we going to survive in tourism and support our families,” the taxi operator asked.
Lobo then contacted Parrikar to apprise him of the problem and to request a meeting to resolve the issue.
“A meeting with the chief minister has been arranged on Tuesday and I have also asked the tourist taxi owners and drivers to be prepared for an amicable solution across the table by placing their grievances before the chief minister,” said Lobo.
Police Inspector Nilesh Rane then took the Calangute MLA to his office along with some representatives of tourist taxi operators to discuss the issue.
Rane explained to Lobo that the tourist taxi operators were asked to produce the fare chart at an earlier meeting but this was not acceptable to the taxi operators, hence the matter was unresolved.Lobo then asked the tourist taxi operators to be ready with a fare chart in view of allegations by the tourists and others in the tourism trade that the tourist taxi operators were overcharging the tourists.
“The fare chart will make the deliberations easier for an amicable solution with the involvement of government officials,” said Lobo.
Lobo then asked the tourist taxi operators to be ready with a fare chart in view of allegations by the tourists and others in the tourism trade that the tourist taxi operators were overcharging the tourists
