GUWAHATI, Sept. 18: The Motor Parivahan Sewakarmi Sanmilita Mancha (MPSSM), an association of motor transport owners, tour operators, tourist cab owners and operators, bus owners and drivers, truck and oil tanker drivers and owners of Assam, has temporarily withdrawn its decision to ban Meghalaya-registered vehicles after assurances by authorities to address the demands of the Mancha.
Speaking to The Shillong Times at Jorabat on Thursday afternoon, Anirban Goswami, secretary, MPSSM, Assam, said, “The forum has decided to withdraw the protest till Sunday, following chief secretary and magistrate level deliberations between the two states and assurances to address our demands.”
The demands of MPSSM, comprising about 30,000 members, include a permanent solution to the issue, including withdrawal of all restrictions on Assam-registered authorised tourist taxis and commercial vehicles in Meghalaya; assurance of safety and security of tourist taxi operators from Assam and blacklisting of the All-Khasi Meghalaya Tourist Taxi Association (AKMTTA) by the Meghalaya government for intercepting vehicles from Assam carrying tourists bound for various destinations in Khasi Hills.
Tourist drivers from Meghalaya were on Thursday morning prevented from dropping passengers to the airport, railway station and other places in Assam and forced to return by MPSSM. A few days back, tourist taxi drivers from Assam were stopped by AKMTTA in Shillong and prevented from onward journeys to other tourist destinations in Meghalaya.
Meanwhile, the prevention of commercial vehicles transporting passengers at Jorabat caused great inconvenience, particularly for travellers from Meghalaya who were on urgent trips to the airport, railway station, hospitals, and other important destinations.
As many as 5000 drivers had assembled at Jorabat for the strike from 5am till 1.30am amidst tight police security in the area.
During the protest staged between 5am and 1.30pm, many vehicles from Meghalaya—whether commercial taxis or privately owned—were reportedly turned back from Jorabat and prevented entry in Assam.
The issue of entry of Assam tourist vehicles in Meghalaya has been a long pending issue as Meghalaya taxi drivers allege loss of employment owing to tourists preferring Assam vehicles to come to Meghalaya from Guwahati airport.
The Meghalaya taxi association has demanded a Sikkim-like model for Meghalaya where only Meghalaya tourist vehicles will be allowed to be operated in Meghalaya to protect the interests of local taxi drivers
“However, if our demands are not met by Monday, we will be compelled to resume our second phase of agitation from Monday,” Goswami said.
The Assam association said the Meghalaya government collects an annual tax of Rs 48,000 per vehicle. “So, when the Meghalaya government earns revenue to the tune of crores as against tourist permits to the Assam-registered vehicles not to mention the tax collected at the tourist sites, we see no reason why our vehicles should be prevented from taking tourists to the sites in Meghalaya,” said Nabajit Sarma, an office-bearer of the Mancha.
Members of the association further said that they will not send any tourist vehicles to any part of Meghalaya owing to security risks involved, as the situation has escalated.
“We condemn their unjustified and selfish demand, as these Assam-registered tourist vehicles hold valid permits, including three-state tourist permits for Assam, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh. Some even possess all-India tourist permits and contribute a huge revenue to Meghalaya,” the association had earlier said in a statement.
It said such disruptions could lead to a sharp decline in tourist numbers, which would severely impact the livelihood of local businesses, including street vendors, hotels, restaurants, the automobile industry, petrol pumps, toll gates, sightseeing points and parking leaseholders.
The protest also left many passengers stranded in Guwahati and Jorabat. “We plan to go to Shillong, Smit and various places in Meghalaya for a field trip. However, we were stranded for several hours since embarking at Guwahati railway station on Wednesday morning,” said Prof. AKM Anwaruz Zaman, who is leading a 44-member team of students from Aliah University, Kolkata.
