the goan I network
MAPUSA
Demanding withdrawal of police protection provided to GoaMiles taxis, an agitated group of local tourist taxi owners stormed the Anjuna Police Station and gheraoed the skeletal police staff on duty and held them at ransom on Sunday noon.
Almost 100 tourist taxi owners of Anjuna-Chapora drove to the police station at around 2 pm and parked their cars in the open place in front of the police building.
For six hours the taxi owners refused to remove their cars and stayed put at the police station.
They finally left at around 8 pm after obtaining an assurance from Mapusa PI that police will not escort any GoaMiles drivers.
“Police are not going out of their way to escort any drivers. Police security is provided only if there is threat of any law and order problem,” Mapusa PI, Kapil Nayak who holds charge of Anjuna Police Station told the agitated taxi drivers.
On their grievance that GoaMiles did not have RTO licence to operate in the State, Nayak urged them to approach appropriate authorities with their complaint.
Earlier in the afternoon, the taxi drivers gheraoed two police officials inside the station and argued with them for providing protection to the GoaMiles taxis.
The angry drivers slammed the police force for supporting “outsiders” and continuously heckled the two police staff.
Speaking to the media, the tourist taxi owners warned to take law into their hands if the government failed to scrap the GoaMiles taxis from the State.
“This government has
destroyed mining and fishing industry in the State. Taxi operation is the last business left with Goans and this government wants to snatch it from us Goenkars. They want to give it to outsiders,” said Yogesh Govekar, a taxi owner.
He said most of the hotels and shops in the State have been taken over by the marwadis.
“Now, this government wants to give taxi business also to non-Goans,” he said.
He further said that taxi owners never overcharged and definitely did not operate as mafia.
“Certain lobby and a section of the community is against us. They want to destroy us. But we have the backing of most Goans,” he said.
