Imphal, October 23 2009: In pursuance of the demand to issue route permission under a definite transport policy of the State, members of the All Manipur Bus Owners' Association are set to surrender their respective buses and permissions to the Transport Director tomorrow.

Addressing a press conference in this connection at Manipur Press Club here today, Association secretary A Priyokumar lamented that there has been no definite transport policy in the State inspite of raising the demand to the Transport Department for the last many years.

In the absence of a transport policy, issuing of route permission randomly without any consideration about the traffic volume and the mileage to be covered has caused numerous problems in the State, Priyokumar said.

Issuing of route permissions haphazardly has led to a situation where the passenger services of the buses, Tata Magics and Autorickshaws would come to a dead end apart from contributing to congestion on the roads of Imphal, causing noise pollution and increasing the rate of road related accidents, he added.

It has also made it difficult to put a check on the drivers who have no sense of the traffic rules.

So until and unless, the State Government comes out with a clear cut transport policy and issuing the route permission on its basis, All Manipur Bus Owners' Association is prepared to launch various intense agitations, Priyokumar informed.

As part of these proposed agitations, all the passenger buses in inter-district services would be surrendered along with their respective route permissions to the Transport Department tomorrow, he added.

Transport A Babu, who was also present during the press conference, observed that the Transport Department of Manipur has been reduced to a Department which has no policy of and its own and the functioning of which depends on the whims and fancies of some of the officials and staff.

He pointed out that as per the rules, Autorickshaws and Tata Magics can only ferry the passengers from their respective starting places in the city to their place of destination already decided and they could not stop midway to pick up the passengers.

Unfortunately, none of the autorickshaws and the Tata Magics are today obeying the rules nor the Transport Department has checked this.

As a consequences, inter-district passenger buses have been able to carrying on with their services.

It has also become difficult for the owners to repay the loan taken from the banks and the money borrow on interest from other people, Babu said, while reiterating the demand for a transport policy so that the passenger buses, Tata Magics and Autorickshaws can survive together.

On the other hand, All Manipur Light and Medium Vehicle Transporters' Union has announced that proposal of surrendering of vehicles along with road permit tomorrow has been suspended.

According to a statement issued by the general secretary of the Union M Brojendro Luwang, the decision was taken after a joint meeting with the Deputy Director Transport and the District Transport Officer (DTO), Imphal West in the office chamber of the Deputy Department to discuss the charter of demands of the Union submitted to the Government earlier.

During the meeting, both sides negotiated to resolve the issue within a short period of time.

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