Shillong Taxi Strike Ends: Tourist Services to Resume from Saturday

Taxi associations in Shillong, Meghalaya, ended their strike and will resume services from Saturday after protesting against the new hit-and-run law.

Members of various tourist taxi associations in Meghalaya participated in a strike on Friday to protest against the new penal law on hit-and-run cases. However, they later called off the protest and will resume normal services from Saturday morning.

Strike Action

On Friday, members of the Khasi Hills Tourist Taxi Association positioned themselves at several junctions along the interstate highways and stopped tourist taxis that did not take part in the protest. Association general secretary Bhaskar Deb explained that the protest was in line with the Greater Guwahati Tourist Taxi Association.

Reason for Protest

Deb clarified that the strike was not against tourists but aimed at protecting fellow drivers from the proposed law. Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, set to replace the Indian Penal Code, drivers who flee without informing authorities after being involved in serious road accidents due to negligent driving face up to 10 years in prison or a fine of Rs 7 lakh. The punishment in such cases was two years under the British-era Indian Penal Code (IPC). Deb expressed concern as it is their livelihood.

Strike Called Off

However, All Meghalaya Tourist Taxi Drivers Association president Ricaldinus Dohling later announced that the strike had been called off and normal services between Shillong and Guwahati would resume from 5 am on Saturday. He added that since the strike had been called off in Assam, seamless transportation of passengers between Assam and Meghalaya would resume from Saturday morning.