Tourists stranded as Taxi Drivers strike

Hundreds of tourists continue to be stranded or inconvenienced across the coastal tourist State on Monday with taxi services in the State being largely affected following strike call given by the tourist taxi operators’ associations, north and south. The tourist taxi operators are opposing the entry of Olacabs in the State. The State Director of Transport, Sunil Desai, however, insisted on Monday that they are yet to give any permission to Olacabs. In a statement issued on Monday afternoon at a press meet convened at Calangute in north Goa by the striking taxi operators, they have threatened to make the strike indefinite if the Goa government failed to promise that it will not allow Olacabs to operate in the State.

Vice president of North Goa Tourist Taxi Association Ravindra Vengurlekar told GoaChronicle.com on Monday afternoon from north coastal belt that around 4,000 taxis from north and around 3,000 from south under the aegis of both associations were on strike. He said that they have also managed get black-yellow taxis numbering around 1,000 across the State to support them.

He admitted that tourists were inconvenienced due to their strike. “We have not obstructed buses and tempos or any big vehicles plying on roads”, he said claiming that by and large their strike was peaceful.

Police reports from Pernem taluka of north coastal Goa said that there were minor incidents of violence following which some taxi drivers were taken into police custody.