VASCO
Dozens of black-yellow taxi operators affiliated to the United Taximen Union protested against the launch of the State government’s ‘Goa Miles’ taxi app by staging a sit-in agitation outside Dabolim international airport on Monday evening.
The UTU taximen have opposed the Goa Tourism Development Corporation’s ambitious app-based taxi service from counter 29 at Dabolim airport.
A huge police force, with many in riot gear, was stationed at the airport to prevent any untoward incident, while the taxi app was being simultaneously launched at the Secretariat in Porvorim and at counter 29 of the airport.
As plans were afoot to inaugurate the counter and operate some taxis registered under the app from the airport, some UTU members decided to confront Airport Director BCH Negi, who was present at the site, but they were prevented from doing so by the police.
The GTDC and airport officials then inaugurated the counter and a few taxis left with the officials, amid strong jeers and boos from the agitating UTU taximen.
As part of their protest, the taximen sat in protest on the exit road of the airport at about 5 pm. Police officials, Mormugao DySP Sunita Sawant, Vasco PI Nolasco Raposo, Verna PI Ninad Devulkar and Dabolim PI Shailesh Narvekar spoke persuaded them to move away from the road to avoid inconvenience to other passengers.
Insisting that their protest was peaceful, the taximen sat on one side of the road and after about half an hour dispersed from the site.
UTU members denounced the taxi app as illegal and alleged that some people with government jobs had even registered their taxis in the app created by the GTDC just to kill UTU business at the airport.
They complained that this was the second counter being run by an outsider, the first being a Maxicab counter run by a Delhi-based company.
