Association wants ban on outside taxis from ferrying visitors to tourist spots
Our Bureau
SHILLONG/NONGPOH, Sep 10: The All Khasi Meghalaya Tourist Taxi Association (AKMTTA) will go ahead with its proposed indefinite strike starting September 16, despite reciprocal threats from Assam transporters.
The association is seeking curbs on tourist taxis from outside from ferrying visitors to tourist spots in Khasi-Jaintia Hills.
AKMTTA president Ricaldison Dohling stated that the association took this step in the best interest of local tourist taxis, stating that the protest will be peaceful and not create any law and order problem. The association pressed the state government to formulate a policy to regulate the entry of tourist taxis from outside the state ferrying visitors to popular destinations across Meghalaya.
Dohling questioned Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh’s recent announcement to launch another 200 tourist prime vehicles, claiming that the scheme was impractical and would not benefit locals. He added that many who received prime vehicles months ago were yet to get even a single trip. The situation forced many owners to abandon their prime vehicles, and Dohling alleged that the government’s move to announce another 200 vehicles is an attempt to divert attention from AKMTTA’s protest.
The Meghalaya Commercial Trucks Owners’ and Drivers’ Association (MCTODA) has backed the AKMTTA agitation, terming the demands of the taxi drivers as “legitimate and justified”.
MCTODA president Mosklander Marngar urged truck owners and drivers to stand in solidarity with the upcoming agitation, expressing concern that traditional livelihoods, such as coal mining, limestone quarrying, and timber trade, are being taken over by large companies and outside operators.
The Synjuk Ki Trai Bad Ki Nongniah Kali Kamai Ka Bri U Hynniewtrep (STNKKBH), a conglomerate of commercial vehicle associations, urged the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) to regulate and take steps to stop tourist taxis from outside the state from ferrying passengers to various tourist spots within the scheduled areas.
STNKKBH spokesperson Balajied Jyrwa said the delegation approached the council in view of opposition from some associations in Assam, which claimed that the “Sikkim model” cannot be implemented in Meghalaya.
Jyrwa stressed that the Meghalaya government should implement the Reciprocal Transport Agreement (RTA) signed on December 4, 1997, which includes a provision under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which allows governments to prepare transit routes between states and issue tourist permits. He said similar pacts were signed between Sikkim and West Bengal and between Jharkhand and Odisha.
Inclusion of Meghalaya in the RTA framework with Assam will help facilitate easier cross-border tourist transport, as it will help facilitate easier movement of tourist vehicles between Assam and Meghalaya, Jyrwa added.
It may be added that a conglomerate of transporters’ associations in Assam has resolved to retaliate if the AKMTTA restricts the movement of Assam-registered vehicles from plying to tourist spots in Meghalaya.
The Tourist Transporters’ Association of Assam warned that it would not let essential service vehicles move to Meghalaya, apart from restricting Meghalaya-registered vehicles from picking up or dropping off passengers at the Guwahati Railway Station or the LGBI Airport if the AKMTTA goes ahead with its decision.
“The reciprocal blockade will effectively turn Meghalaya into a zero-tourist zone, an outcome that is unacceptable and detrimental to all stakeholders,” the body warned.