Shillong, Sep 14: The All Khasi Meghalaya Tourist Taxi Association (AKMTTA) slammed the statement of Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh who rejected ban on Assam tourist vehicles.
The black flag protest by the All Khasi Meghalaya Tourist Taxi Association (AKMTTA) ended on Saturday.
Paul recently said Assam remains a source of tourism for Meghalaya since the state is relying on Guwahati airport, railway station among others.
In response, AKMTTA president Ricaldinus Dohling said if the public understood what the Tourism Minister said it means that the Meghalaya government does not want development or infrastructure like hospitals or educational institutions.
Paul’s statement indicates that the state government does not want development as it wants to depend on Assam for everything, he said.
“It seems through this statement that the Meghalaya government does not want to develop the state and wants to harass the public who have to spend their money outside,” Dohling said.
He added that those who go for treatment to Guwahati have to spend around Rs 5000 to 6000 for hiring a vehicle for a day.
He also clarified Lyngdoh’s statement that there are complexities within the local taxi ecosystem, noting that around 60% of drivers in the state do not belong to any association, while the remaining 40% are split into several groups.
Dohling said even if the tourist vehicles are split into various associations, they all stand firmly behind the demand to ban Assam vehicles to carry passengers to tourist places.
“We are united and we daily contact the leaders of the various associations in the districts and even those in Shillong and East Khasi Hills district,” he said.
Dohling said the association had sent various representations, to address their grievances, to the state government for the past one year but no action was taken.
He also added that if the government has the will it should have invited the association for talks even as he added that they have the support of their associates from Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
He said that if the state has the will it can restrict the entry of Assam vehicles like what is being done in Sikkim.
