Karwaris agitate over entry tax, but Dhawalikar firm
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 01 April 2013 10:02 IST
Karwar people at Majali blocking NH 17
People of Karwar have opposed the imposition of entry tax to enter Goa from 15 April while Goa government is firm on the decision.
People of Karwar, on Saturday, staged a symbolic rasta roko for three hours to protest against the decision of imposing entry tax.
Goa’s PWD minister Sudin Dhawalikar has however said the government would go ahead with its decision.
Karnataka fisheries minister and Karwar MLA Anand Asnotikar has assured the agitating people of Karwar to talk to Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar in order to resolve the issue.
The issue came to the fore with people from Karwar blocking the NH 17 at Majali, the Goa-Karnataka border, demanding withdrawal of the entry tax.
Goa government is starting one-time entry tax for the vehicles entering Goa by issuing a sticker that would be stuck on the front window of the vehicle.
Goa would charge Rs 1000 for vehicles above six wheels, Rs 500 for six-wheelers, Rs 250 for four-wheelers and Rs 100 for two-wheelers.
Various organizations in Karwar got together on Saturday, including Saibaba Taxi Organisation, Karnataka Bus Organisation, Uttar Kannada Taxi Owners’ Association, Lorry Organisation, Tempo Organisation as well as Janshakti Vedike.
The agitation was led by Karwar-based Congress leader Satish Sail, who even warned that they would not allow a single Goan vehicle to enter Karwar if the entry tax was not withdrawn.
According to him, visiting Goa across the border is a daily affair as they even have close relatives in Canacona and Karwar people go to work in Goa every day.
The PWD has however constructed its check post beyond two kilometers in Goa, providing benefit to the people coming to fill Goa’s ‘cheap petrol’ at the Pollem petrol pump as well as the liquor shops lined up from the border.
In retaliation of the agitation, Goa’s PWD minister Sudin Dhawalikar asks whether Karnataka government would also withdraw several taxes it imposes on the vehicle owners in their state.
“Our entry tax is only once, but in Karnataka you have to pay money at different places in spite of horrible condition of their roads”, he said.
