the goan I network
VASCO
Dozens of taxi owners affiliated to the All Goa Taxi Union (AGTU) along with Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginald Lourenco agitated at the Dabolim Airport for nearly four hours on Saturday afternoon, demanding an immediate withdrawal of the parking fee of Rs 100 levied on vehicles exceeding 5 minutes at the airport.
AGTU President Bappa Korgaonkar threatened that the taxis would drop passengers away from the airport, if the Rs 100 parking charges levied by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) contractor was not rolled back immediately for vehicles arriving at Dabolim Airport.
Curtorim MLA Aleixo
Reginaldo Lourenco, who participated in the agitation and extended his support to the agitating taximen, accused legislators from Mormugao Taluka of being asleep, while traditional Goan businessmen engaged in taxi services were put to great hardship.
With the growing tension, a strong force of over 100 police personnel, including two platoons from the IRB, were stationed at the Airport to prevent any untoward incident.
Mormugao Dy Collector Mahadev Arondekar along with Mamlatdar Satish Prabhu was also present on the Airport along with Mormugao DySP Sunita Sawant, PI Ninad Devulkar and PI Shailesh Narvekar to monitor security arrangements.
Trouble broke out at about 2 pm when a delegation of taxi members along with Lourenco first confronted the taxi-parking contractor, to complain that the Rs 100 parking fee levied on vehicles exceeding 5 minutes at the airport terminal was unacceptable.
They also demanded to meet the AAI contractor or Airport Director BCH Negi and when they could not meet the airport director, the taximen became more agitated and the staff employed by the contractor also disappeared from the site.
“We refuse to pay any charges as 5 minutes are insufficient to pick and drop passengers at the terminal,” said All Goa Taxi Union President Bappa Korgaonkar.
“We do not even want a special extension of 15 minutes; we insist that we will not pay anything at all.”
“We respects our guests, but if this issue is not resolved we will send a message to all taxis and we will be forced to drop passengers on the main road outside the airport or charge the parking fee from passengers. Else, the director should shut down this counter for taxi operators,” Korgaonkar added.
Sensing trouble, Dy Collector Mahadev Arondekar sought to pacify the delegation and appealed to them to proceed to the Dabolim airport police station, as the delegation could cause chaos at the arrival and departure terminals.
The agitation lasted for around 4 hours at the airport and ended at about 5.30 pm, only when the South Goa collector called the taxi delegation to Margao to take a call on the demands of AGTU.
