the goan I network
MARGAO
Thousands of tourist taxis, including black and yellow taxis in South Goa stayed off the roads in support of the strike call given by the associations of taxi operators on Friday against government’s continuing support to GoaMiles app-based taxi service.
The situation across the South district was, however, peaceful, with district police chief, SP Arvind Gawas saying not a single incident of violence was reported from any part of South Goa on Friday.
Taxi operations along Salcete’s coastal belt came to a screeching halt since Friday morning as the operators stayed off the roads in support of the strike. Some of the taxi operators maintained that hotel guests, who were supposed to take early morning flights, were transported to the airport so as not to inconvenience them. Later in the day, buses were deployed to ferry the hotel guests to the airport.
While the tourist taxi operators were conspicuous by their absence, taxis under the banner of GoaMiles made frequent trips to the hotels along the coastal belt, dropping and picking up customers from the hotels. There was, however, no report on any incident of GoaMiles drivers being restrained from entering the coastal belt.
All the 150-odd tourist taxis operating at the world famous Colva beach also stayed away. Some of the private tourist coaches also stopped plying in support of the local taxi drivers. Though GoaMiles taxis made trips to Colva, there was no untoward incident throughout the day. Police pickets were set up at the Colva Residency as a precautionary measure. Police were also deployed at the Colva four roads junction.
Traffic personnel, who are often deployed on the main Margao-Colva road to challan traffic violators, were all posted around the Colva Residency, as a precautionary measure.
Tourist taxi operators doing business outside the Margao Residency were also conspicuous by their absence on Friday. Not a single tourist taxi was seen outside the Margao Residency on Friday.
Meanwhile, South Goa Superintendent of Police, Arvind Gawas informed that the day passed off peacefully without any untoward incident. “Reports indicate that the tourist taxis stayed off the roads and there was no law and order problem anywhere in the district,” SP Gawas added.
