Team Herald
PANJIM: Locals in Arambol on Monday caught a Russian working as a taxi driver, leaving cabbies fuming at how the man got away with this right under the nose of the police in the popular tourist belt. His car had a Haryana number plate and is reportedly owned by a Delhi-based lawyer.
Local taxi drivers demanded to know how the foreign national was allowed to ply a taxi without having the badge or uniform mandatory for taxi drivers in Goa.
"When we go out with passengers, we are harassed by the police day and night and often made to may fines that can run up to Rs 10,000. This person had neither a badge nor a uniform, but he was still being allowed to operate a taxi. Police do not care. No action is being taken against him," a local cabbie said.
The local taxi drivers claimed that cabs such as this one were being run using the Telegram app to get bookings and demanded a thorough investigation.
"All such businesses are being run on the Telegram app. The government should ban the app as it is destroying local business in Goa. Strict action should be taken against these persons," another taxi driver said.