Venzy Viegas – stop legalizing illegalities. – By Nisser Dias

I am not advocating frequent changes in laws. But laws must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. With the change of circumstances, laws must also keep pace with the times. But that does not mean, laws be made within laws to suit a particular sector.

That is what the Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas seems to be doing with an ulterior motive to win the next elections with a vote bank which had evaded him during the last hustings.

Just like he wanted legislation legalizing ‘Dhirio’ (bull fights) even when the highest court in India had banned it as cruelty to animals much before he was elected as a legislator. Venzy is no different from his predecessors. Power corrupts and it has corrupted Viegas even more. If not Venzy must say I have dedicated 5 years of my life to public service and let others take on the mantle, this is my challenge.

He seems to be advocating that the government of Goa formulate a law for public transportation, interestingly though he wants the ‘tourist taxi operators” out of it. Such nonsense is not only difficult to decipher but also to digest as it comes out of ignorance and arrogance. Early in the month of September Benaulim MLA was part of the meeting of tourist taxi operators and government-supported APP-based Goa Miles called by the Colva police. The police agenda was simple, with the tourism season fast approaching, both parties were warned to conduct their business properly and not to take the law into their own hands.

However, Benaulim MLA Viegas known for his aggressive posturing seems to have developed an amnesical mind for his convenience.

First and foremost, he has to understand and realize that tourist taxi operators have to operate their taxis from home. They have sworn an ‘affidavit’ to that effect with the Rural Transport Office. Basically, it states that they undertake to operate their vehicles on a call basis and that their vehicles would be stationed/parked at their residences and not in front of the hotels or resorts as they do now. If this affidavit is enforced by the police, majority of issues like the fleecing of tourists, and strong-arming of other stakeholders in the hospitality industry including hoteliers will end.

Successive governments for some reason do not want the police to enforce it, giving an opportunity to the likes of Venzy and before him his predecessors to dangle a carrot before the tourist taxi operators for the sake of votes. If the government of the day enforces the affidavit, most of the ills practiced by tourist taxi operators can be stopped. The government would be free to introduce APP-based taxis and overall bring about a massive change in the public transport system in Goa.

Simply because successive governments showed leniency towards the tourist taxi operators for decades now, are have been flexing their muscles. In fact tourist taxi operators are largely part of bringing a bad name to Goa on the tourism map. Tourist taxi operators are like a plague that have been gnawing at the tourism industry since inception.

Initially, the taxi operators took objections against the tour operators who brought in tourists to the state. The former refused to allow the latter to take their own guests on tours in buses, though it was a part of the guest's paid itinerary. Taxi operators took the law into their own hands, blocked the buses, and even assaulted their drivers. At the same time, the taxi operators protested against the hoteliers for hiring out their vehicles to the tourists. Family members were not allowed to pick-up their relatives from the hotels. All this while refusing to adhere to government proposal of regularizing the fares.

Where in the law says, that tourist taxi operators have a full monopoly in this sector?

But politicians like Venzy Viegas and his predecessors (ex MLAs) play the nasty game of the tourist taxi operators for want of votes, thereby allowing the illegal demands of operators to continue, to somehow win the next elections. Benaulim MLA has sold his soul. He made a statement during the meeting that tourist taxi operators in a large-hearted manner gave up ferrying locals so as to accommodate APP-based taxis services.

Interestingly former MLA Churchill Alemao had said, that locals cannot afford tourist taxi operators fares as they are meant for tourists. So who is lying? In the recent past Venzy Viegas hailed a taxi operator charging Rs. 4000 from Mopa airport to Benaulim a distance of 65kms. Does it not expose Viegas' double standards? Please stop supporting illegal causes to come back to power.

If not for tourist taxi operators, Goa like other states would have a robust, easy and affordable public transport system. Politicians like Venzy and his predecessors are responsible for denying Goans such a system for selfish reasons of getting elected again.

Luizinho Faleiro, Churchill Alemao and Joaquim Alemao have tried their best to back tourist taxi operators and lost elections. Venzy Viegas is not doing anything different because he wants to remain in power just like his predecessors.

Enforce the affidavit, show the tourist taxi operators their place and see the change.