VASCO: The taxi operators at the Dabolim airport are highly inconvenienced in the absence of a parking space there. The multi-level car parking facility that was built to meet the parking need at the airport is not put to use yet.
The parking crisis at the airport is of ‘serious’ nature.
Recently, the traffic police challaned a taxi operator for parking his vehicle in the no parking zone at the airport. Following this, the taxi operators shut down their counter at the airport, and even suspended the taxi operation.
The protest by the taxi operators though was against the traffic police, but was staged to draw the
the attention of the concerned authorities including the Airport Authority of India and the state government for their failure to resolve the parking issue at the airport for the last several years.
Realising that the air passengers were the sufferers, the taxi operators soon commenced their operation and also opened the counter.
Some taxi operators are of the opinion that the Airport Authority of India should commission the multi-level car parking facility, which was constructed by spending crores of rupees, to resolve the problem of parking.
“Due to the security reason, and the availability of some parking bays close to the integrated terminal building, the multi-level car parking facility has not been commissioned for the last several years, and it has become a white elephant,” they said.
They have now asked the Centre and the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to provide an immediate attention to their problem and commission the facility.
“Whoever forms the next government in the state, after the poll results scheduled on March 11, should take up the issue of taxi operators and resolve the problem of parking. The multi-level car parking facility should be commissioned in the interest of the air passengers and the taxi operators, ”said a taxi operator.