PANAJI
Stung by a season marked by taxi disputes, angry tourists and mounting complaints of harassment along its coastline ” an annual feature ” the Goa government claims to have begun an aggressive cleanup push to confront the forces chipping away at its tourism appeal.
Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte said Goa is increasingly forced to explain episodes that involve neither its heritage nor its beaches, but its taxi operators. “Everywhere we go, only one question is asked: ‘Is the taxi issue under control?’ This ‘dadagiri’ will not work,” the minister warned, as the government has been left embarrassed after a German tourist, Alexander Welder, alleged he and his girlfriend were followed and stopped from boarding a GoaMiles taxi. A similar incident occurred in October when a Mumbai designer described dragging her luggage for nearly a kilometre in Varca after local drivers blocked her app-based cab. A month earlier, a woman from Ahmedabad reported being threatened in Betalbatim for making a similar booking.
Khaunte said he has told Chief Minister Pramod Sawant that “troublemakers” within the taxi sector require what he called the “right treatment” if Goa is to recover its damaged reputation.
In a pointed aside, the minister blamed what he described as the “mindset of vote-bank politics,” hinting that some coastal legislators shield disruptive operators. “We are bringing tourism to Goa, and someone will destroy it; this will not be tolerated. If we kill the hen, then where will the eggs come from?”
The authorities have also acknowledged they are dealing with other issues that hurt Goa’s image ” non-Goan social media influencers whose posts or actions locals find disrespectful, and touts/hawkers who aggressively approach or harass tourists.
Tourism Director Kedar Naik said his department has begun strict action against touts and those running illegal activities on beaches, while adding that tourist police, shack operators and other stakeholders have been instructed to keep unauthorised vendors away from the shoreline.
Naik said the administration is prepared to intervene directly if operators fail to control the situation. The department is considering new regulations that would give beach associations authority to confront touts and repeat offenders.
