MARGAO: The day-long strike by the tourist taxi owners and operators was total and peaceful along Salcete’s coastal belt -- South Goa’s tourism hub -- but the strike left tourists and visitors to the tourist belt to fend for themselves at many places as they were seen walking on foot to reach their hotel destinations on account of the strike.
While hundreds of tourist taxis plying from the starred and other resorts along the belt went off the road in response to the call given by the taxi operators, the Goa police maintained a close vigil all along the coastal belt to maintain law and order.
The police staged a flag march all along the beach road at Colva, Benaulim, Varca and Mobor in an apparent bid to instill confidence amongst the people as well as the taxi operators, who were willing to ply their taxis to and from the tourist belt.
One could find at many places tourists moving with their luggage on foot to their hotels, especially at Colva and Varca. Women and children tourists walking with luggage on the roads was a common sight at some of the place along the coastal belt.
A few black and yellow taxis had plied from the railway stations to the coastal belt in the morning, but they decided against going to the coastal belt later in the evening for fear of violence.
Colva Police station in-charge, PI Filomena Costa told The Goan that there was not a single untoward incident reported from the coastal belt, the most hit by the day-long strike.
He further informed that the Colva police did not receive even a single complaint of harassment or intimidation or violence from any quarter along the coastal belt. “We had deployed around 300 policemen at major junctions and near the hotels. We have been successful in maintaining law and order”, PI Costa said.
