Tourists in Goa will continue to face the brunt of the tourist taxi strike on Saturday too, as striking taxi operators accused the Government of not giving any concrete assurance to resolve their pending demands, which include immediate steps to stop harassment by police and transport department officials and also doing away with the mandatory fitting of speed governors to their vehicles.
On a day when tourists, as well as locals, were stranded on their journeys to or from major transit points like the Dabolim International Airport or major railway stations or bus depots, the Manohar Parrikar-led coalition Government had to face the ignominy of Ministers from a ruling coalition party, Goa Forward, expressing solidarity with the striking taxi owners, along with leaders from the Opposition.
"The bus service provided at the airport was too inadequate. We had to wait for at least three hours to get a ride," said Rakesh Shetty, a businessman who arrived from Telangana at the Dabolim airport on Friday morning.
Another tourist, Sheetal Patil, who is on a holiday from Pune with a group of friends said that in absence taxis, private vehicles moonlighting as taxis, were charging unrealistic amounts for ferrying tourists. "I had to take the train to Pune and they were charging us
Rs 6000 for a distance of 50 km from Anjuna to the Vasco Railway station," she said.
The tourist taxi drivers meanwhile upped their ante, stretching the strike for another day.
"We are forced to continue our strike for one more day because the Government is neglecting us. There is no concrete assurance from this Government over our demands. We want the harassment of taxi owners at the hands of transport and police department to stop. The Government should also appeal in Supreme Court about outfitting of speed governors in our taxis," North Goa Tourist Taxi Association president Vinayak Nanoskar told reporters, after hundreds of striking taxi operators staged a day-long dharna in Panaji.
Speaking to reporters at the dharna, Town and Country Planning Minister and Goa Forward president Sardesai, claimed that the demands of the taxi drivers were genuine.
"Although the demands look plausible, how to settle it is something which is not very easily settled, because it is an SC judgment," Sardesai, while speaking about the demands of the taxi operators to scrap fitting of speed governors to taxis, which has been mandated by a Supreme Court order. The deadline for fitting of speed control devices to taxis ends on February 24.
The Goa Government meanwhile has already involved the Essential Services and Maintenance Act and has imposed Section 144 to prevent any untoward incident.
"Speed governor is a law I cannot change it. There will be no fitness certificate issued if there is no speed governor after February 24," Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said. He also said that no action would be taken against the striking taxi operators, if they do not violate law.
"I don't even need notice if the taxi operators are going off road, because if a taxi driver decides that he will not ply his taxi today, how can I force it. It is his choice... ESMA was imposed so that someone did not do anything untoward," Parrikar said.