Taxi body asks CM to call them for talks

Shillong, Sep 19: The All Khasi Meghalaya Tourist Taxis Association (AKMTTA) on Thursday urged Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma to call them for talks within a week.
“We would like the state government to invite all the tourist taxi associations for the meeting,” AKMTTA president, Ricaldinus Dohling told reporters after submitting an open letter to the chief minister.
According to him, they handed over the letter to official at the Chief Minister’s office since he was not present.
In the open letter, Dohling urged the chief minister to expedite the implementation of a policy ensuring the right to the local tourist taxis to ferry tourists to various tourist spots.
He said that from time to time, the association has written to the government through the Tourism department expressing concern about the crisis of the owners and drivers.
“Additionally, in our letter we have requested the government to implement a policy ensuring the right to the local tourist taxis to ferry tourists to various tourist spots,” Dohling said.
He further said that the local tourist taxis has only requested the government to restrict vehicles from other states from ferrying tourists to tourist spots and not to ban vehicles from entering Meghalaya.
“Moreover, as we (local tourist taxi drivers) are an integral part of Meghalaya Tourism with a vital role in ensuring a safe, comfortable travel experience for tourists and share basic information about the places of their visit, we request your immediate intervention to expedite the implementation of a policy which will be of a great help to the people of the state who are in need,” Dohling said.