GUWAHATI, Nov 27: Five days after imposing travel restrictions on vehicles to Meghalaya at Jorabat and Digharkhal, the two main entry points to Meghalaya, the Assam Police on Sunday withdrew the ‘travel advisory’ and allowed all Assam-registered vehicles to enter or pass through Meghalaya.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, Cachar Superintendent of Police Numal Mahatta said that the temporary restrictions which were imposed on Tuesday after the firing at Mukroh have now been withdrawn, allowing all stranded tankers and trucks at Digharkhal to enter Meghalaya en route to Assam.
“The travel restrictions to Meghalaya have been removed from today,” Mahatta said, adding that instructions have come in this regard from the higher authorities.
Asked whether the decision to withdraw the curbs had been taken after assessing the situation in Meghalaya, the Cachar SP replied in the affirmative, adding that “both the governments have taken a decision in this regard.”
As it is, the Assam Police over the past five days had been assessing the situation working in close coordination with their counterparts in Meghalaya.
On Friday, the Assam Petroleum Mazdoor Union, after halting fuel loading activities for Meghalaya the previous day amidst the “tense situation and possible security threat to tanker operators/drivers, resumed normal operations following an assurance of special protection to the drivers of the tankers by the Meghalaya government.
Police on Sunday also removed the barricades along the interstate border at the traffic intersection at Jorabat, allowing movement of Assam-registered vehicles to/through Meghalaya.
Additional DCP (East) Guwahati Sudhakar Singh also confirmed the development.
Tourists, both domestic and foreign, were left stranded along the Assam-Meghalaya over the past five days after Assam-registered vehicles were not allowed to proceed to Shillong or other parts of Meghalaya as a precautionary measure in the wake of the killings at Mukroh.
However, Assam-based transporters were skeptical about lifting of the curbs.
All India Road Transport Workers Federation (AIRTWF), Assam state committee general secretary Biren Sarma said that the transporters and tourist cab associations/unions were sceptical in regard to resumption of operations as a “formal statement from either the chief ministers or the home ministers in regard to improvement of the situation” had not been made.
“We are not yet convinced on the removal of travel restrictions to Meghalaya. Therefore, we will have a meeting on Monday morning to decide whether the unions and associations would resume operations amidst the apparently tense situation,” Sarma said.
