The standoff over tourist taxi operations between Meghalaya and Assam deepened on Thursday, with commuters left stranded and tempers flaring at Jorabat after drivers from Assam allegedly blocked vehicles from Meghalaya and denied them entry. Passengers bound for Guwahati’s airport, railway stations, hospitals, and other urgent destinations bore the brunt of the obstruction, as Meghalaya drivers were forced to turn back. The flashpoint has once again exposed simmering tensions between the two states’ transport sectors, even as the All Khasi Meghalaya Tourist Taxi Association (AKMITA) sought to set the record straight.
Balajied Jyrwa, spokesperson of AKMITA, said, “Today, as you know that there has been a stoppage of transport vehicles from Meghalaya to Assam. So the thing is that, we want to clear it out. As you can see that Assam vehicles, plying here very easily, very freely. Because why our strike, our demand is our fight is not with the people from other states specially from Assam but with the State Government of Meghalaya. As you can see that in the past two days we have just distributed pamphlets to the vehicles citing our demand to them that we are asking from the Government of Meghalaya. There has been a lot of confusion, lot of misinterpretation so we want to clear it out that our strike is not against the government of Assam or people of Assam, but our strike is against the government of Meghalaya. People should understand that specially our counterparts from Assam, you should be clear that it is our demand with our government. We don’t have any fight with you any argument with you all. Your (Assam) vehicles are free to come here but please drop the passengers or your clients in the designated spots or in the hotels, from there let the local tourists vehicles carry these passengers from these hotels or designated parking spots. So we both can share the market that we are having here in the state.”
The association has pressed for long-pending demands, including a clear tourist taxi policy prioritizing state residents belonging to Scheduled Tribes, reciprocal transport agreements with neighboring states, regulation of excessive taxes imposed on Meghalaya taxis at Assam entry points, dedicated parking spaces at tourist destinations, and the creation of a tourist taxi-specific app. AKMITA has also called for stronger coordination between operators and government departments, along with exclusive “Prime Vehicle” benefits for local drivers to strengthen livelihoods.
Jyrwa stressed that the strike is not a new development but an unresolved issue spanning the past two to three years. “This strike has not just started this year but it’s been there for the last two three years. We want the implementation of certain policies,” he added.
Meanwhile, the blockade by Assam drivers has compounded the crisis, leaving tourists and locals alike caught in the crossfire of a dispute that is increasingly hurting Meghalaya’s tourism-dependent economy.
