Our Correspondent
Kohima, June 18 (EMN): The attempt to introduce two-wheeler taxi service in Kohima town—which has been running into rough weather since it was started—appears to have come to a screeching halt now.
From having its bid for legalisation quashed by the Nagaland State Transport, the two-wheeler taxi riders are now facing another bump on the road: the All Nagaland Taxi Association (Anta) has ‘stopped’ them from plying in Kohima since June 17, on grounds of not possessing ‘permit.’
On July 7, 2018, a proposal to legalise two-wheeler taxi services was submitted to the regional transport officer. The NST had approved it and the Finance department also gave the clearance. However, the service was “quashed” on April 16, 2019 due to the absence of specific rules that regulates two-wheeler taxi in the Motor Vehicle Act of 1988.
Nevertheless, on its “mission to legalise” two-wheeler taxi service in the state, the riders had been continuing to operate for past few months in Kohima. But on June 17, the taxi association stopped the two-wheeler service citing the ‘non-legalisation of the service.’
According to the two-wheeler taxi riders, the ban has left them desolate as most of them depend on the service for their livelihood. “Many riders had bought their two-wheelers on EMI. The inability to ride smoothly had put the riders under immense pressure of survival and these youths are landing their youthfulness into debt,” read a statement from the riders.
The riders went on to say that they were “not willing to stop the service” despite the ban. “Because even though Anta is a registered association, they don’t have the power to ban us; the power is with the administration. The government is not even banning us but the organisation that had been registered to work for the transportation has come out to ban us,” they said.
Won’t stop once they get permit— Anta
While speaking to Eastern Mirror, the president of Anta, Viba Solo admitted that they had stopped the two-wheeler taxi service until they procure permit from the authority concerned.
‘The association will not stop them from plying once they are legalised. However, for the time being we had requested them not to ply,’ he added.
According to Solo, other factors like complaints from drivers about fares, passengers, non-possession of permits had also prompted the Anta to stop the two-wheeler service.
The president also highlighted plight of the four-wheeler drivers. He said that besides the cost of buying cars, they also run around a lot to procure licence, insurance, and permit. As a registered taxi association, they have to conduct insurance checking, taxation and renewal of taxi permit at the RTO every year, he added.
Representatives from Anta and two-wheeler taxi riders were reported to have conducted a meeting with the Deputy Commissioner of Kohima, Anoop Khinchi on Tuesday. The two-wheeler taxi riders had sought for “temporary services” permit.
However, the meeting ended in a stalemate since “it all comes back to the issue of legalisation,” according to a source.
