SHILLONG: Meghalaya Commercial Truck Owners and Operators Association has accused the state transport department of giving liberty and relaxation to trucks transporting produces of cement factories from East Jaintia Hills to Assam via Ratacherra and Jowai.
T. Wardkhar, member of the association, slammed the transport department over the dilapidated condition of the new roads in Jaintia Hills, alleging that the department has completely failed to detect overloaded goods laden trucks.
Trucks carrying clinker are always loaded beyond the permissible capacity. These trucks pass through the checkpoints in East Jaintia Hills where transport officials are stationed. But at both the checkpoints, they turn a blind eye and allow the trucks to pass through freely,” he alleged.
“So much leverage is given by the administration of both districts in Jaintia Hills to trucks transporting cement and clinker and those exporting boulders to Bangladesh via Dawki. There is completely no checking on coal smuggling with truckers regularly supplying the raw material to cement factories every night in East Jaintia Hills District. The transport and NGT checkpoints in East Jaintia Hills, which was set up for detecting coal laden trucks to cement factories, have been a total failure,” he said.
Referring to the ban on mining by High Court, the association alleged that the forest department and state government are not enforcing it.
He also said boulder mining was still rampant in Jaintia Hills and due to export of boulders to Bangladesh, the roads are damaged.
No check on coal smuggling
Concerned over lack of vigil on the part of the government to detect coal smuggling, the truckers’ body pointed out that recently, the West Jaintia Hills district administration has stationed a mobile court on NH 44 to check overloading and coal smuggling trucks.
“But these exercises have turned out to be futile”, the truckers’ body said.
The association has asked the transport department and police to enforce the Motor Vehicles Act in letter and spirit on all carriers irrespective of the goods they were transporting, and ensure no favouritism was extended to any particular section of transporters.
