Trade unions stir: Buses, tourist taxis go off roads in Goa

Panaji, Jan 9 (PTI) Normal life was affected in Goa on Wednesday as private buses and tourist taxis remained off roads in response to the two-day nationwide strike called by trade unions to protest th

Panaji, Jan 9 (PTI) Normal life was affected in Goa on Wednesday as private buses and tourist taxis remained off roads in response to the two-day nationwide strike called by trade unions to protest the alleged anti-people policies of the central government.

Long queues of passengers were seen at various bus stands after the private buses association in the state did not operate its services.

To mitigate the woes of passengers, the state-run Kadamba Transport Corporation was operating 800 additional bus services, a senior official of the corporation said.

Some people living on islands in the coastal state also faced problems as ferry boat services run by the government’s river navigation department remained shut.

“Despite the state government having invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), the ferry boat operators have not reported to work. People living on islands cannot go to the mainland even in case of an emergency,” social activist Jerry D’Souza, a resident of the Diwar Island near Panaji, said.

He demanded that the state government take a firm action against the river navigation department employees supporting the strike.

Majority of the tourist taxis also remained off roads, causing inconvenience to visitors, specially those who wanted to catch flights from the Dabolim airport in Goa.

Schools and colleges across the state witnessed thin attendance, as students did not venture out of homes due to unavailability of private buses, according to sources.

Workers in many industrial areas also did not report to work, they said.

Some government departments in the state capital Panaji also saw thin attendance.

Suhas Naik, convener of the Goa Convention of Trade Unions and Mass Organisations, said the strike was successful as people joined it voluntarily.

“Everyone is affected by the central government’s policies, and the response to the strike is an indication of this. A clear message should go to the Centre (leaders) that they need to correct their actions,” he said.

This is published unedited from the PTI feed.