Team Herald
CHORAO: More than 50 yellow-black taxi owners gathered near Karmali Railway Station on Thursday to protest the passage of trains through the station without halting.
Karmali Yellow-Black Taxi Owners Association (KYBTOA) president Rantakar Kuncolikar stated that only three trains stop at Karmali station. He said, “Our business is hit. Some of us are not able to repay loan installments to the bank and some cannot even meet their daily expenses. Our association submitted a memorandum to Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, North Goa MP Shripad Naik, former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and local MLA Pandurang Madkaikar, but nothing has been done. Our families are worried due to the financial crises.”
Taxi owners informed that six months ago major trains passing from Mumbai to Bangalore CST and the Konkan Kanya Express used to stop at the station, but now they stopped directly at Margao.
They stated that many tourists from across the world visited Old Goa, which was hardly two kilometers away from Karmali station. The tourists as well as regular commuters now had to get down at Margao and travel a lot to reach Old Goa and other parts of the district.
KYBTOA said it would approach Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar with their grievances.
