Goa taxi strike: CM Pramod Sawant says adequate transport arrangements made for tourists

As the strike by taxi operators in Goa entered the second day on Saturday, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the administration has made adequate transportation arrangements for tourists visiting the state.

He said the state is equipped to handle matters concerning the tourism industry.

Tourist taxi operators in the state launched an agitation on Friday seeking scrapping of 'Goa Miles', an app-based cab service.

Sawant had earlier refused to scrap the app-based cab service and asked the taxi operators to either join the service or have their own similar facility.

"Our administration is equipped to handle matters concerning the tourism industry. I want to assure the tourists visiting Goa that there are adequate intrastate transport arrangements," the chief minister has said in a statement released in Panaji on Saturday.

"Tourists, domestic as well as international, are most welcome to Goa," he said.

The administration has started plying extra buses of the state-run Kadamba Transport Corporation from the airport, railway stations and other tourist places to facilitate the tourists.

Stakeholders from the tourism sector said there was a slight, but bearable impact on the industry due to the taxi strike.

They said a solution for the long-pending problems faced by the industry should be arrived at this point, without bowing to the pressure tactics by tourist taxi operators.

"There is a slight impact on tourism due to agitation by taxi operators. But it is bearable as we are looking at finding out a long-term solution for this problem," said Savio Messiah, president, Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG).

The TTAG is an umbrella organisation of all the travel and tourism stakeholders in the state, which attracts more than six million visitors annually.

Messiah said any agitation in the tourism industry is likely to affect the sector.

"Such kind of strikes cause annoyance to the tourists who come to enjoy their holidays," he said.

"Right now, there are no cancellations of hotel rooms or any significant impact on the tourism industry due to the strike," he added.

Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) president Manoj Caculo said tourism in the state is likely to be hit by it.

But it is high time the taxi operators toe the state government's line, he added.

"The stand of the (tourism) industry is that the solution should be found for this problem. The government has offered all the help to tourist taxi unions if they want to develop their own app and run the operations," he said.