SHILLONG, SEPT 8: The Meghalaya Commercial Truck Owners and Operators Association (MCTOOA) today slammed the government’s transport department for its failure to detect overloading trucks which are the root cause for the dilapidated condition of the roads.
In a statement issued here on Friday, MCTOOA member T Wardkhar said that the present condition of the roads in Jaintia Hills are highly dilapidated for a simple reason that a crucial department in the government has become a total failure in detecting overloading goods laden trucks.
“For reason best known to transport department, so much liberty and relaxation is given to trucks transporting produces of cement factories originating from East Jaintia Hills and going to Assam via Rtacherra and Jowai,” he said.
He alleged that the trucks carrying clinkers are always overloaded beyond the permissible capacity adding these trucks pass through the transport checkpoints in East Jaintia Hills where transport officials are stationed but both the checkpoints allowed them to pass through freely, pretending them to be unnoticed.
Stating that big time transportation of clinkers and cement by highly overloaded trucks is glaringly going on during the night hours regularly, he said that these truckers are kings of the highway as they drive in high speed as if they own the highway.
He also alleged that the administration of both the districts – East and West Jaintia Hills for giving leverage to trucks carrying cement/clinkers and those exporting boulders to Bangladesh via Dawki.
Wardkhar further stated that there is completely no check on coal smuggling trucks which are regularly supplying coal to cement factories every night in East Jaintia Hills District.
“The Transport and NGT Checkpoint in East Jaintia Hills which was set up for detecting Coal laden trucks to Cement factories is a total failure,” he said.
Stating that the Meghalaya High Court has recently banned all kinds of mining in the state till Rules or Policies are framed, he however said to the forest department and the state government the court’s order seems to be simply regular notifications not to be respected.
He said boulder mining is still going in large scale in Jaintia Hills and Boulder Export to Bangladesh is thriving at its peak via Dawki now adding all those trucks exporting Boulders to Bangladesh are highly overloaded thus damaging several parts of the road.
“The Government is expecting general public to comply with its various orders and directions, but when it comes to itself, even the Court Order appears to be irrelevant and toothless,” he said.
Despite of the West Jaintia Hills District Administration has station Mobile Court in the Highway (NH 44) to check overloading and coal smuggling trucks, he said “But these exercises turned out to be futile ones as those overloaded clinker, cement trucks and coal smuggling trucks do not give a dam to those officials sitting in the Highway.”
He said it has become a common practice and undeclared policy of the Transport Department to station its officials in the Highway for checking of goods laden trucks.
According to him, even the NGT Committee was doing the same thing and never stationed at the Notified Checkpoint in West Jaintia Hills.
Meanwhile, the association has stated that the incidents of Highway robbery and looting from the Truckers can be attributed to such activities practiced by the Police and Transport Officials.
“On many occasions criminals took advantage of the situation by mimicking the Government officials and stop the vulnerable goods laden trucks only to loot and rob them,” he said.
The association appeals to the transport department and police to enforce MV Act in letter and spirit on all carriers irrespective of the goods they are transporting, and ensure no favoritism is extended to any particular sections of transporters including clinkers and cement he added.
“We won’t mind if the government officials stop goods laden trucks (if needed) only at the Police Stations or notified Transport Department checkpoints for checking but not in a random way by stopping trucks in some corner of the Highway.”
By Our Reporter
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