PANAJI
At 9 am on January 5, 2023, the first passenger flight arrived at the Manohar International Airport from Hyderabad, marking the commencement of operations. But two months on, the taxi service at the grand facility is still not in place.
The proposed blue cab service and a special pre-paid taxi counter are yet to see the light of day. The only relief for GOX passengers -- a large chunk of who comprise tourists -- is taxis affiliated with GoaMiles App and the state-run Goa Taxi App.
The Transport Department is scrutinizing applications claiming that officers are following the process before sealing the deal. “We have prioritized 150-odd applications received from locals, who own four-wheelers. This will be followed by scrutiny of around 1,200 applications of individuals who do not own cars but are interested to associate with us for cab service,” Director Rajan Satardeskar said.
The local taxi operators demanded Yellow and Black Taxi permits at the second airport soon after its inauguration in December 2022; however, the government put its foot down to give an image makeover to the taxi service at the new facility by proposing blue colour airport taxis. A pre-paid counter was agreed upon.
Exactly two months later, the government’s ambitious project is awaiting implementation with quite a few other initiatives also pending. “We are following the process. It will be completed at the earliest… An agreement with the airport will also be signed,” the director added.
As the waiting period gets longer, it is understood that authorities have set a “temporary arrangement” allowing plying of other tourist taxis, in what could create friction among the existing taxi operators.
The first phase of the Rs 2,870 crore Mopa airport project is expected to cater to around 44 lakh passengers per annum, which can be expanded to a saturation capacity of 33 million passengers per annum.
