Local taxi Association urges ban on out-of-state vehicles at Meghalaya tourist spots

Shillong, July 9: The All Khasi Meghalaya Tourist Taxi Association on Tuesday appealed to the government to “ban vehicles from outside the state” from ferrying passengers to tourist spots in Meghalaya.

The association stated that tourist taxis from outside the state can bring tourists and other passengers to the state, but the right to ferry them to different tourist spots should belong to the local tourist taxis.

“The destination of vehicles from outside the state ends in Shillong and then they return to where they came from,” the association said in its letter to Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh.

The association further mentioned that on any given day, there are at least 3,500 vehicles that bring tourists into the state, out of which over 2,400 are from outside the state.

The number of local vehicles is just over 1,100. Moreover, the number of Meghalaya-registered vehicles is over 5,100, with more than 4,000 of these travelling without any passengers, the association claimed.

It further stated that local tourist taxis are losing out every day and sought the government’s immediate intervention.