Shillong, Sept 8: Assam agreed to address the demands of the tourist taxi associations of Meghalaya, thereby ending the statement on movement of vehicles following the August 19 violent incidents.
A joint meeting chaired by Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Transport Sniawbhalang Dhar and Assam Cabinet Minister Atul Bora, was held here on Tuesday. The meeting was attended by seven associations from Assam and five from Meghalaya.
Dhar said the meeting, initially chaired by the Transport Commissioners of both states, was positive and all genuine issues raised by the associations have been accepted.
“The associations from Meghalaya requested parking space at the airport and toilet facilities. The government of Assam has accepted and will do the needful,” Dhar said.
He said both governments have also directed police of the two states to work together to prevent harassment during checking.
“Both associations have committed to work together from now onwards. If any minor lapses remain, they will be resolved within a few days,” he said.
Dhar said a sub-committee headed by the Transport Commissioners of both states will meet as and when required to address any future problems.
Mentioning the sequence of events, Assam Minister Atul Bora said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had asked him to immediately take up the matter with Meghalaya after the August 19 incident.
“On August 22, we had a meeting in Guwahati and adopted resolutions. I met the protesters and they immediately withdrew the protest,” Bora said.
According to Bora, 400 brokers (middle men) from Assam were arrested during the stand-off between the taxi associations of both the states.
He said the follow-up meeting on Tuesday was held at the request of Meghalaya associations and the situation is now normal.
“The associations are more or less happy. We are working on the resolutions adopted on August 23. Now the situation is normal,” Bora added.
