NEW DELHI, January 29 (RAPSI) - The Russian Consulate General in Mumbai has not received any reports of injured Russian nationals following the recent attack of a tourist bus by taxi drivers, RIA Novosti reported Wednesday.

A number of travel companies canceled Goa tours on Tuesday after local taxi drivers attacked a bus carrying Russian tourists near Calangute. The bus driver sustained severe injuries. There have been several attacks on buses carrying Russian tourists in the past ten days in the area. Taxi drivers are angry because travel agencies set up by Russian-speaking foreigners use transport companies’ services and as a result, take away their potential clients. The drivers claim that many foreigners working for local travel companies are staying in Goa on a tourist visa and have no right to do business in the country. The attacks, however, involved both legal and illegal travel agencies.

According to the IANS news service, some 7,000 local taxi drivers operating in Goa charge excessive fares and ignore the rates set by the government.

IANS also reports that on Tuesday, almost 1,000 drivers staged a protest in Panaji, the capital of Goa, to request the government take action over the travel industry.

Representatives of the protesters met with Chief Minister of Goa Manohar Parrikar who promised to consider their requests. Ravindra Arlekar, president of the North Goa tourist taxi owners association, says that the minister requested a list of travel companies that employ Russians staying in India on tourist visas and said that he would take action.