Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, July 29 2009:
Representatives of the Leima khong Schedule Castes Transport Cooperative So ciety, Leimakhong Bazar Authority and Leimakhong Bazar Youth Club have called upon the State au thorities to find an amicable settlement to a raging dis pute between two transport bodies operating on the Imphal-Leimakhong route.
Speaking to newsper sons at Leimakhong Bazar today representatives of these local organisations expressed strong appre hension that an ongoing tussle between the Leimakhong SC Transport Cooperative Society and L Phaikot Taxi Service is likely to blow out of proportion if differences between the two transport bodies is not solved at the earliest.
It has been informed that the SC transport society had been operating passen ger service from Leima kho ng to Imphal (via Khurkhul) along the NH-39 for the past many years.
Recently, the State's Transport Dept is sued permit to another tran sport agency to operate from L Phaikot to Imphal (via Kanto Sabal) along the same NH stretch thereby resulting in the formation of a new transport agency call ed L Phaikot Taxi Service.
Even though the latter is registered as L Phaikot Taxi Service vehicles operating under the new transport agency used to park at the main gate of Leimakhong Army station and not at L Phaikot as the name sug gest, opined several spea kers during the media brief ing held this morning.
Tension reportedly es calated after vehicles of the Phaikot body closed in to wards the parking space of the SC transport society which is at Leimakhong Bazar, they confided while reiterating appeal to the Government to intervene for maintaining peace and social harmony in the area.
According to general secretary of Leimakhong Bazar Authority, SL Kailen vehicles operating under the SC transport body had been paying parking fee to the Society with the prac tice still on.
However, pass enger carriers of the L Phaikot Taxi Service do not contribute parking fee to the Society inspite of occupy ing the latter's parking space.
Kailen also informed that from July 31 onward all passenger carriers that utilise Leimakhong Bazar parking space would have to subscribe parking fee to Leimakhong Youth Club and every vehicle, including those registered under the L Phaikot Taxi Service would have to duly comply with the new fee subscription norm.
Asserting that in case vehicles under the L Phai kot do not fall in line with the said regulation passenger carriers of the Taxi Service would have to return to L Phaikot, the secretary fur ther said with effect from July 31 time schedule would be strictly maintained under a time keeper to ensure regular service to the trans port operators.