Team Herald
VASCO: Passengers at the Dabolim international airport faced severe inconvenience due to inadequate number of taxis during Day-1 of the strike called by the North and South Goa Tourist taxi unions.
During morning hours yellow and black pre-paid taxis which operate exclusively from Dabolim airport managed to provide service to the arriving passengers but their number was inadequate. Similarly in the afternoon and during evening hours there was total chaos at the airport as majority of the prepaid taxi drivers remained off road citing fear of being targeted and people were seen using bus service provided by Kadamba Transport Corporation (KTC) and Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC). Few were seen searching for other mode of local bus transport to go reach their destinations. There were few auto rickshaws from Vasco stand seen providing their services to the passengers.
“We had kept our counter open but there were problems of inadequate number of taxis due to which passengers had to wait. In the morning we had some attendance of taxis, but during afternoon many of our members remained off the road due to which passengers had to face severe inconvenience,” said Sanjay Naik, president of United Taximen Union (union of 350 odd airport taxi operators).
Naik claimed that they provided services only on standard routes like Panjim, Margao, Canacona, Mapusa and Porvorim and refrained to provide services to the coastal belts in north and south Goa. “As and when taxis were arriving we were sending passengers from the airport. Till evening more than 700 odd trips we made using 100 odd taxis”, he said.
Overall passengers arriving at the airport during afternoon operations had to suffer the most due to non availability of taxis, though KTC and GTDC buses had come to their rescue. In the evening when back to back three flights arrived at the airport, hundreds of passengers remained stranded at the airport as there was a shortfall of even KTC or GTDC buses. “We had come down to Goa on a four-day long vacation but now we feel that we did a mistake by coming here at such time where the taxi operators are on strike. Since last one hour we are waiting at prepaid taxi counter but they don’t have taxis. We are helplessly waiting and god knows how much more time we have to wait.” said Nikhil Sharma, a domestic tourist from New Delhi.
Similar grievances were raised even by several other incoming passengers at the Dabolim airport with majority of them seen offering double, triple fare if taxi was provided to them but the only and last available option for them was to board KTC or GTDC buses. However, passengers were reluctant to take public buses because they wanted vehicles to take them directly to their hotels.
Likewise incoming as well as outgoing passengers had to face severe inconvenience.
The departure area of Dabolim airport was full of passengers. To avoid confusion many passengers who were having flights in the afternoon or evening hours reached airport several hours before their flight, There were no complaints of passengers missing flight.
“Till 6.30 pm I was at the airport and I have not received any report of passengers missing their flight, though the passengers had to face inconvenience. All our flights were operating as per schedule without any delay, unless there is any delay from origin of the flight. Also prepaid taxi counter was open and they were accepting bookings but their operations were not full-fledged. We had passengers coming down to airport in advance and we had made all arrangements for them by allowing them inside the airport by relaxing our rules. We had made extra sitting arrangements for them and have also asked the food counters to make extra arrangements,” AAI Director B C H Negi said.
Meanwhile except for the airport, the passengers arriving at Vasco railway station did not face any major inconvenience as bus services from Vasco town were readily available. The Vasco Police had maintained tight security all over the city and other areas and there were no reports of law and order problems.
