Nowadays the only option left with common men is to go on strike after any problem faced by them. This time, it’s tourist taxi owners. The North Goa Tourist Taxi Owners Association (NGTTOA) has called for the indefinite strike from April 11. The reason behind the strike is clashes between the North Goa rent a car association and North Goa Tourist Taxi Owners Association in Calangute. The strike is to protest against the government for not taking any action on illegal private vehicles given on hire. This is what both the parties have to say about the issue they are facing. Read the complete report here.
[su_expand more_text=”READ MORE” less_text=” ” height=”0″ hide_less=”yes” link_style=”button” link_align=”center”] The strike was announced by the general secretary Vinayak Nanoskar at the Calangute Dolphin Circle on Thursday. The tourist taxi drivers had gathered at the dolphin circle near St Alex church, Calangute to protest against the illegal private vehicles given on hire. The tourist taxi drivers are running into huge losses due this illegal business.
Tourist taxi drivers, two days ago gathered in front of the traffic cell criticizing the department for not taking any action on this illegal renting on the beach belt.
The NGTTOA has also asked for a support from taxies operating at the airport and railway stations. It is said that even auto-rickshaws and private tourist buses will join the strike. There are more appeals of the taxi drivers as Bapa Korgaonkar spokesperson for NGTTOA stated that 15 members of the association have been booked in the Ola cab fiasco two years back and the state government is not interested in solving the issue.
In the meantime, the North Goa rent a car association also gathered near Bodgevode, Calangute on Saturday objecting to the NGTTOA in stopping their vehicles. Amit Shiorodkar, The secretary of North Goa rent a car association, said that the Calangute MLA is not supporting their cause. Shiorodkar added that they are also locals who want to do business in the state.
Nitin Chodankar vice president said that “Our boys are locals and want a share in the tourist trade”. Opposing the upcoming strike Chodankar said that tourists are booking Ola and Zoom in their own states and driving the vehicles into Goa and no action has been taken against them.
Taxi owners are firm for a one-day strike on April 11 to push their demands. A police official said that a meeting would be arranged to decide on how to deal with the taxi strike. According to the sources, the government is likely to hold a meeting with taxi operators to resolve the issue cordially. [/su_expand]
