Good news
The news item “It’s sealed now: new taxis to have meters, GPS” (The Goan Everyday, Dec. 11), is welcome news for the people of Goa and tourists in particular. For too long were the taxi operators in Goa having a field day, charging exorbitant fares, far beyond the reach of passengers and more than double of what is charged in neighbouring states. It is hoped that the new digital meters are calibrated correctly to record a minimum affordable fare, along with the distance travelled and the total fare to be paid at the end of the journey, to avoid any hassles. With the new system in place, people hiring a taxi will also stand to benefit, as they will be free to move around from one place to another, keep the taxi waiting, and proceed further if they wish, unlike the present system that has fixed charges for a particular destination. Anything beyond, or a change of route or destination means asking for trouble and playing into the hands of unscrupulous taxi drivers.
A F Nazareth, Porvorim
Passed by
A football ground has been the very longstanding demand of the people of Ribandar which to date remains unfulfilled. On his visit to Ribandar in 1970, Goa’s first Chief Minister Dayanand Bandodkar had assured Ribandarites that their demand for a football ground would be met. Similarly every other subsequent Chief Minister has similarly assured but the demand to date has remained a mere dream. In 1980 we had an agitation demanding that Ribandar be given a football ground but despite the assurance by then Chief Minister Pratapsingh Rane the football ground never materialized.
Over the years Ribandar has had many talented footballers but lack of a football ground has been a hindrance in nurturing talent amongst potential footballers. Successive governments have paid lip service to this one longtime aspiration of the residents of Ribandar, that it be bestowed with a football ground that could be used by the residents and possibly even the neighbouring village of Chimbel. No achhe din in sight for the football lovers and players of Ribandar.
Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar
Lean season
It’s the middle of December and apart from the heat wave going around, which is very unusual, another not so usual sight is the lack of foreign tourists dotting the eating establishments on the beach belt from Aguada to Anjuna. As someone who is a regular visitor to the beach strip over the past 12 years, on account of my work, it’s safe to say that there has been atleast a 30 percent drop (visually) in foreign tourists. Is this a sign of a waning appeal that Goa has now? Many friends of mine from the UK and other parts of Europe have been complaining about the preferential treatment given to Russian tourists and the garbage, traffic chaos and the indifferent attitude by taxi drivers and other touts. If this is going to scare away tourists then it’s high time we start to change things. The meters on taxis is a good move but more has to be done, lest we scare tourists off to Kerala and Manali/Dharamsala if this continues.
Sanjay Naik, Mapusa
