PANAJI
Describing the GoaMiles cab service as a "legacy of the past", Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho on Wednesday, without naming Leader of Opposition Michael Lobo, slammed the latter for trying to exacerbate the conflict between tourist taxi operators in North Goa and the cab aggregator service.
Speaking to reporters, he also said that the conflict between taxi operators would ruin Goa's image as a tourism destination.
"With great difficulty, I was able to re-address this problem in the last government. Since I am only looking after transport, I am pained by the attitude of certain people. This is not going to help tourists to come here and neither is it going to encourage the transport industry. We have to think of the State as a whole. We cannot be isolated with certain islands," Godinho told reporters.
"Goa first of all is half the size of a district of any other State. And if we start islanding ourselves, how will the state run? How will the transportation system run? If we leaders encourage such groups and have this type of attitude to be further encouraged then I am very saddened by the fact that it does not augur well for the future of Goa," he also said.
Godinho's comments came soon after a flare-up between GoaMiles and tourist taxi operators in Calangute, following which Lobo has reportedly said that taxi operators from outside the Calangute-Candolim belt would not be allowed to pick up a fare from the area. Lobo made the veiled threat after a vocal representative of the tourist taxi association Yogesh Govekar was also arrested by the Calangute police following complaints from GoaMiles drivers.
Godinho also called the GoaMiles service a "legacy of the past", while adding that little could be done to stop the service now.
"If we had tried to stop them they would have gone to court and taken a stay. It would have been worse. The main demand of the taxi people was that they should not have a counter at the airport, because app-based you can operate from anywhere," Godinho said, adding that the demand had been fulfilled.
