Govt to give1,000 taxis to unemployed youth

PANJIM

In the ongoing emerging competition between tourist taxis and app-based cab operators, Goa government vouched to increase the taxi fleet to encourage entrepreneurship among unemployed youth.

Tagging the taxi operators as ‘ambassadors of Goa’, Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho said 1000 unemployed youth will be enrolled under the scheme, which has been granted a nod by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.

“We have several youths all over Goa looking to start a business. They can become young entrepreneurs in taxi services. Under the CM's pet scheme of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Swayampurna Goa; 1000 youth will become self-reliant within one year,” the transport minister said. The initiative will help rural areas where public transport is still a distant dream.  

"Taxi operators are the ambassadors of Goa. The entire fraternity should not face the heat because of a few black sheep," he added.

The Transport Department has also decided to hire private buses which will boost the public transport service. With this, older buses and taxis are set to be phased out. Under the proposed scheme, KTCL will hire private buses on a temporary basis given that purchasing new KTCL buses is not feasible for the cash-crunched State government.

A boost to road transport, CM Sawant added, is crucial considering that Goa’s both airports are bringing in huge number of visitors. 

“The hue and cry over Dabolim’s closure after Manohar International Airport’s commissioning, has fallen flat. Instead, we are connecting to new cities and both airports are bringing in a huge crowd. The tourism sector is expanding and hence, there is a requirement for tourism transport,” the CM said.

Along with transport enhancement, Godinho added that the infrastructural growth has elevated Goa’s stature making it one of the top destinations to host high-profile events such as the upcoming G20 summit.  

Eight meetings of G20 Summit will be held in Goa wherein the first set of meetings will be held from April 17 to 19 at Taj Convention and Grand Hyatt. The remaining meetings are scheduled to be held in June and July.

The CM further said that places where smart city works in Panaji are underway and are to be visited by the G20 delegation will be completed before the event.