Meghalaya to Convene High-Level Meet with Assam by Sept 10 to Resolve Transport Stalemate

CORRESPONDENT

SHILLONG: If the indications on the Assam-Meghalaya stalemate are anything to go by, interstate movement between Meghalaya and Assam is likely to continue normally until a meeting scheduled for September 10, in which Commissioners of Transport of Assam and Meghalaya will iron out all issues with representatives from taxi associations of Assam and Meghalaya.

The Meghalaya government will convene a high-level meeting with the Commissioners of Transport of Assam and Meghalaya by September 10 to address long-standing grievances raised by transport associations over difficulties faced by drivers travelling to Guwahati, Deputy Chief Minister in charge of Transport Sniawbhalang Dhar said, adding that the Tourist Taxi Associations from Meghalaya and Assam will also be called to the meeting, which will seek to address the concerns of drivers and transport operators from both states.

Dhar said the meeting would focus on the concerns of drivers and transport operators from Meghalaya, which, according to the associations, have faced difficulties while entering and travelling through Assam.

He said the government had heard the associations’ grievances during a meeting attended by senior officials from the Transport and Home departments, Deputy Commissioners of Ri-Bhoi and East Khasi Hills districts, the Superintendent of Police and representatives of various tourist taxi associations.

“We have come to the conclusion that within September 10, I will be calling a meeting at my level with the commissioner of transport, Assam and Meghalaya, and in the presence of all the members of the association from us and from Assam. The date is yet to be fixed, but we will try to solve all the problems which our drivers face during their trip to Guwahati. Their concern is very genuine; hopefully, by meeting both the states, the problem should be solved in the future,” Dhar told media persons in Shillong  The Deputy Chief Minister said the government had decided that interstate movement would continue as before, while a further decision would be made after the proposed September 10 meeting.

“From this moment, we have decided that we will move freely as we were moving before; after September 10th we will take a call,” he said.

 Dhar also said the blockade imposed in Assam had already been withdrawn, allowing movement between the two states to resume. He said the immediate focus was on ensuring that transporters could travel without disruption while the broader concerns were addressed through discussions between the two governments.

Earlier, the Meghalaya government held discussions with representatives of different tourist taxi associations to understand the difficulties faced by drivers and operators. The meeting was attended by officials from the Transport department and senior officials from the Home department, as well as the Deputy Commissioners of Ri-Bhoi and East Khasi Hills and the Superintendent of Police.

“Today we had a meeting in the presence of my officials from transport and the senior official from the Home Department and both the deputy commissioners from Ri Bhoi as well as East Khasi Hills, along with the SP in the presence of all members of different Tourist Taxi Associations from the state of Meghalaya,” Dhar said.

 According to Dhar, the associations raised several issues that they said had persisted for months and, in some cases, years, particularly when vehicles from Meghalaya entered Assam. He said the government considered the concerns genuine and would seek to address them through coordination between the two states.

“The Associations flagged some important issues, which, for the last few months, few years, faced problems as soon as they entered the state of Assam. We heard their problem, and their problem is genuine,” the Deputy CM added.

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