The Goa Transport Department on Wednesday said the day-long strike announced by the tourist taxi operators on Friday was illegal and has warned of strict action if taxi operators took law into their hands.
“The government has supported tourist taxi operators fully over the last few years, but they are still going on strike without giving notice to the government. Therefore, we are considering the strike as illegal,” Transport Minister Sudin Dhavalikar told reporters.
Counter neasures
Nearly 2,000 taxis are expected to be off the roads on Friday as part of the strike called by tourist taxi associations of North Goa and South Goa to protest the implementation of speed governors on taxis and alleging harassment by Transport Department and police officials.
Mr. Dhavalikar said, “To overcome the shortage faced at railway stations and at the airport, we are pressing more buses into service. We are also warning taxi operators not to take the law into their hands during the strike or we will take strict action against them.”
In reply to a question, he said that even MLAs would face action if they support disruptive measures in the name of the strike.“They can hold peaceful meetings or protests, that is their democratic right. But you can’t disrupt traffic by putting taxis across the roads,” the Minister said.
