the goan I network
MAPUSA
Training their guns on the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), the North Goa Tourist Taxi Owners Association (NGTTOA) on Wednesday said some TTAG directors and a couple of ministers were misguiding the government.
They also said that discussions with the government will be possible only after the government scraps the GoaMiles app-based taxi service in the State.
“Four directors of the TTAG, its chairperson and two ministers are misguiding the government on the issue,” said Vassudev Arlekar, president of NGTTOA.
The NGTTOA chief was addressing a news conference in a starred hotel in Calangute along with other executive members on Wednesday.
Continuing, Arlekar said NGTTOA wanted to move along with the government but the recent developments indicate that government wanted to finish the business of tourist taxi owners in
the State.
He claimed that the GoaMiles taxi operations were running in a loss and if they continued the same way for another year, the banks will take back their taxis.
“For a trip from Calangute to Mapusa, we charge Rs 300 but for the same distance, a GoaMiles taxi charges only Rs 160. How is it possible to run the taxi business at such a low rate?” he asked.
Claiming that NGTTOA had over 3000 members, Arlekar said that they were not a part of the group that had a discussion with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday.
“We will hold a discussion with the government only after the GoaMiles service is scrapped in the State.
We have submitted a written representation to the government on Tuesday giving the State seven days to decide,” he said.
He also said that as decided, the taxi-men will gather in large numbers in front of the Paryavatan Bhavan, Panaji on July 11 and 12 for a peaceful protest if the government fails to listen to them.
Former NGTTOA spokesman, Laxman Korgaonkar alias Bappa said if the government fails to fulfill their demand they will take to
the streets along with their family.
“We all will surrender our permits to the government and ask them to provide us jobs,” Korgaonkar said.
To a query on the origin of mafia tag against them, he said, a certain lobby was trying to tarnish the name of the tourist taxi owners by posting untruths on social media.
The NGTTOA chief said they were not afraid of change or even competition if it was a healthy one and if all the stakeholders were taken along.
