The issue must be resolved quickly so as not to impact restart of ‘Dudhsagar season’
Just when the state government is on a promotional drive to attract tourists to Goa, jeep operators plying to the famed Dudhsagar Waterfalls are on a warpath. Their main issue is the government’s control of the online ride booking website.
Reiterating their demand to regain control of the website from the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC), members of the Dudhsagar Jeep Operators Association have warned that they will start this year’s season in offline mode from October 2, if their demand is not met. Association members staged a protest outside their office at Collem on Monday. Last year too, the two sides were at loggerheads, and it took a long time before the matter was resolved. But the start of the season was delayed, and tourists as well as the jeep operators suffered. This year also the confrontation is heating up.
Around 431 jeeps are registered with the Forest Department. However, to control the impact on biodiversity, the Department allows only 240 trips per day. The jeep service is managed by the association with the help of the local panchayat and Forest Department. Thousands of tourists, including foreigners, visit the magnificent Dudhsagar Waterfalls, which is perched in the high peaks of the Western Ghats and is a sight to behold when in full flow.
President of the association, Nilesh Velip, said that during their last agitation, former MP and BJP leader Vinay Tendulkar had assured them that the issue would be resolved before Ganesh Chaturthi by handing the website back. But there is no change in status. Alleging that tourists are being overcharged as GTDC imposes its own fees, the association demanded complete withdrawal of GTDC from Dudhsagar.
In a strongly worded warning, the operators said that if the government doesn’t cooperate, then they will start the Dudhsagar season in offline mode.
Velip said that during last season the jeep operators adhered to the Chief Minister’s request and operated under GTDC. They demanded that the government resolve the tangle by handing over their website back to them. They also warned that the government must desist from interfering in their business.
Until a few years ago, booking of rides was done on a first-come, first-served basis, with a queue system. But, as demand increased, the association started an online booking system. First, they started with a borrowed website and then launched their booking service with the association’s portal. This move of theirs was to be appreciated, as they started an online booking mechanism on their own. It’s contrary to the taxi operators who are opposed to online operations.
The dispute began in the 2023-24 season, when GTDC took over the jeep operators’ booking website through a third-party arrangement, routing all bookings and payments through GTDC.
Some are strongly opposed to the government’s ‘interference’ in the booking of rides, while others feel that whatever GTDC does must be carried out amicably in the interest of tourists and the locals. They also want some changes in the Forest Department’s policy of capping jeep numbers so that tourists, especially on the weekends, are given a chance to visit Dudhsagar.
This kind of confrontation between jeep operators and the government is bad for tourism. They have been raising their demands since last month, and still there is no response from the authorities. Hopefully, the government will intervene and resolve the issue soon so that the ‘Dudhsagar season’ is not delayed.
