the goan I network
MARGAO
The United Goans Democratic Party (UGDP) has come out openly in support of local taxi drivers, with Party Secretary General Adv Anacleto Viegas sounding a warning to those in power not to kill the last hope of earning a livelihood for the sincere and hardworking taxi drivers in the State.
Saying that the vicious attacks on the common working taxi drivers need to be seen from the eyes of the taxi drivers and their families, he said the critics appear to be ignorant of the conditions prevailing in the rest of country and those found in Goa.
“In big cities, the fares are regulated by the fact that there is always a passenger at the other end of the journey waiting for a lift hence the taxi operators charge a one-way fare. However, in Goa where towns are small and villages spread all over, the state and population is scattered in these villages, there is no guarantee that a passenger will be available at the other end of the return trip. Hence the charge is twice the fare of a single trip,” he pointed out.
Asserting that attacks on taxi drivers who spend days at the gates of hotels with their fingers crossed to make a living for themselves and their families are totally uncalled for, Anacleto said,
“The hotels were built to provide employment to the locals and now we spend time throwing muck and abuse at our brethren who are providing service to the passenger for a negotiated fare. We have no right to denigrate the honest self-sacrificing individuals who devote their time to transport the tourist. We in Goa have sufficient means to transport ourselves. And the allegation of lack of courtesy shown is only an imaginary and fictitious whim. The taxi driver has won the hearts of foreigners and Indian tourists by making them feel at home and making them visit India more frequently.”
“As far as competition is concerned with GoaMiles, how would we like if permanent industrial workers are shunted out by engaging new ones because the wages of old workers are too high? Is it an acceptable argument for substituting local taxi drivers for saving a few rupees of tourists who come unprepared to pay the fares?” he questioned.
