the goan I network
VASCO
Authorities have pressed as many as 25 buses into service for the benefit of air passengers from 7 am to 7 pm, as part of arrangements at Dabolim airport in view of the strike by taxi operators on Friday.
According to details provided, buses will be available from the airport to Panaji (fare of Rs 100), Margao (Rs 100), Calangute (Rs 150), Mapusa (Rs 125) and Ponda (Rs 150). Three buses will be made available from 7 am to 8.30 am to cater to seven flights, while six buses and three luxury AC buses will be pressed into service for 12 flights from 11 am to 1.30 pm.
Similarly, six buses and three luxury AC buses will be pressed into service for 12 flights from 2 pm to 4.30 pm and four buses will be made available for seven flights from 5 pm to 7 pm.
Details of the buses to be pressed into service at Dabolim airport are available on phone numbers: 8550930546, 7378825857 and 8796484489.
Meanwhile, TTAG president Savio Messias has said sufficient arrangements are being made for passengers at Dabolim airport with various other transporters on account of the state-wide strike called by tourist taxi operators.
“The airport will have a counter to monitor these arrangements. We have enough KTC and GTDC buses and we will also be using Drishti Ferry services to transport passengers. “
“We will also set up health centres and constantly be in touch with hotels to provide them information to make necessary arrangements to transfer passenger to and from the airport,” said Messias.
In a related development, the United Taximen Union (UTU) which claims to have about 350 black yellow taxis at the airport has said it would not support the tourist taxi strike as it could hamper movement of passengers at the airport.
UTU President Sanjay Naik told The Goan that their union did not want to support the tourist taxi strike. “We will not join the strike as it could cause inconvenience to passengers at the airport, who would be unaware of the situation here. We will continue with our services. We cannot keep passengers stranded. Our services will be open to them,”
said Naik.
“We will only be careful not to ply along internal roads and we will try and drop passengers to their destination through the main roads, even if it means a longer route, as we had faced problems by the tourist taxi owners who had gone on a strike the last time,” said Naik.
North Goa tourist taxis assure of peaceful off-the-road protest
MAPUSA: The North Goa Tourist Taxi Owners Association on Thursday said they would hold a peaceful off-the-road strike without disturbing anyone on road.
The tourist taxi owners have decided to gather at Azad Maidan in Panaji from 8 am to 6 pm and decide their next course of action.
“Nobody will bring cars on the road. We will hold a peaceful and silent off-the-road protest. We are not going to disturb anyone,” said Sanjay Vengurlekar, executive member of the North Goa Tourist Taxi Owners Association.
The association’s spokesman, Laxman Korgaonkar alias Bappa said they had all the permissions to hold the strike.
“We have taken permission from all the authorities to hold a one-day protest at Azad Maidan,” Korgaonkar said, adding, the association was not worried about the threats issued by Transport Minister
Sudin Dhavalikar.
The main grouse of the tourist tax owners has been installation of speed governors. “We want each and every vehicle to have speed governors. Why this bias only against us,” Vengurlekar asked.
The taxi owners were also upset at having to face harassment at the hands of the RTO. “Works which were getting completed within a fortnight now take almost three months in RTO offices,” he said.
