Union seeks policy to regulate inflow of tourist taxis

SHILLONG: The All Meghalaya Commercial Vehicle Owners and Drivers Union (AMCVODU) has asked the state government to come up with a policy to regulate the entry of outside tourist taxis into the city.
Taking a cue from Sikkim, the union has demanded a policy to regulate the inflow of commercial vehicles in the state.
Citing economic degradation of the local taxis and rise in traffic jam as the main reason for their demand, the president of the union, Egenstar Kukalang said that the state is witnessing heavy flow of tourists and commercial vehicles from outside the state and instead of the locals, the outsiders are reaping the benefits. He suggested that the state government could very well come up with a policy like Sikkim and allot a place for commercial vehicles coming from outside to park from where the local taxis and the tourist vehicles can ferry the passengers to their destination and other tourist destinations.
The organisation is all set to call for a public meeting in the first week of February and there on press forward for their demand. The union said that around 3,000 vehicles from West Bengal and mostly from Assam come to the city every day.
He also said that the union, which is newly floated, would soon take up the matter with state government.
Meanwhile, the union has also lamented the growing traffic congestion in the Umling toll plaza following the implementation of FASTag.
He also alleged that the toll on the particular highway has been increased by the authorities without any notification to the users. “Earlier, they were charging Rs 90 and now they have increased it to Rs 110 without any notice to the people,” he said.