PANAJI: Just as the process of fitting digital taxi meters started to see the light of day, taxi operators have once again refused to abide with the high court directive over the mandatory installation of the device. The transport department on Thursday opened the appointment window for operators, however, there was no response on day one, sources from the department said. Two taxi groups — from North and South Goa respectively — visited the directorate of transport head office at Junta House, Panaji on Thursday and expressed their grievances to the department officials and demanded that the fitment process be deferred. “How can we install and run the digital meters until the taxi fares are decided? We will install the meters only after several of our grievances are resolved, for which the department must first call us for a discussion,” said taxi operator Sunil Naik. Laximan ‘Bappa’ Korgaonkar said that it doesn’t make sense to install the devices when the state is still battling the pandemic and tourist influx has drastically reduced. He further reiterated the taxi unions’ demand to scrap the app-based aggregator GoaMiles taxi service, adding that their strike in still ongoing. The department has warned that no permit will be renewed without the fitment of digital meters from May 20. “There is a high court directive to install the meters and a deadline. We don’t have the kind of discretion to stop the process,” transport director, Rajan Satardekar said.