On 20 June, the Assam Trucker-owners’, Drivers’ and Handymen’s Association went on an indefinite chakka jam, preventing vehicles from carrying goods to Nagaland and forcing these to be dumped on the Assam (Karbi Anglong)-Nagaland border at Lahorijan.
This act did not come about on the spur of the moment but was the climax of years of harassment by Nagaland police personnel, militant cadres and sundry other organisations that have come up to forcibly collect taxes and donations.
A report in the Dimapur-based Nagaland Post says every truck entering Nagaland is “forced” to pay Rs 550 to the Dimapur municipal committee and an equal amount for parking.
Truck drivers alleged they were often “threatened at the DMC counter in the name of (the) United People’s Democratic Solidarity if they failed to pay”.
One wonders what the UPDS, a Karbi Anglong-based militant group in truce with the Centre and Assam for five years now, has to do in Nagaland unless some are in cahoots with the DMC.
This suggests that if any truck driver refuses to pay, his vehicle number is passed on to “militants” in Karbi Anglong and “punishment” is not long in the coming upon his return journey. There had been several reports of drivers and their assistants being beaten up and abducted, with police remaining silent spectators.
Another report says trucks entering Dimapur are forced to shell out Rs 5,000 as “annual permit” and another Rs 40,000, depending on what type of consignment is carried. Even taxis are reluctant to enter Nagalad and stop at Bokajan, with some drivers describing the Nagaland police gates as “terror gates”.
Thankfully, the chakka jam has stirred the authorities from their stupor. The Nagaland government has banned, with immediate effect, all forms of tax collection along the state highway by “any organisation or individual, including government departments such as the police, excise and forest departments”.
They have been told to do so only through proper treasury challans and those making payments have been advised to obtain receipts for any such transaction.
Nagaland home minister Imkong L Imchen suspects the involvement of a “mafia-like syndicate” in the extortion in and around the commercial hub of Dimapur, which he says can be tackled only with the help and support of the general public.
He says people who for long had been afraid to speak out against these forcible collections are now coming out openly — which is an encouraging sign. But he did not elaborate on who the “any organisation or individuals” were.
Do they include militant and student groups? There have been reports that NSCN(IM) cadres collect taxes from private car owners under the very nose of the police, who are reluctant to act for fear of being accused of interfering since this outfit is observing a ceasefire with the Centre.
Nagaland will earn kudos only if it can stop such rampant extortion by militant outfits which operate in duplicate and triplicate.
Also, it must provide adequate protection to Manipur-bound night bus passengers along the Bokajan-Dimapur route where there have been several reports of miscreants robbing weary travelers when they stop to either relieve themselves or grab an early morning cuppa at a wayside stall.
Truck drivers and their attendants deserve to be respected rather than harassed or tortured because they are the ones that ferry essential goods over long distances, come rain or shine.
Their stopping means a rise in the prices of essential commodities not only in Nagaland but in Manipur as well.
The ordeals of truck drivers and oil tanker owners on the Dimapur-Imphal Road — one of the most unsafe in the region — have been highlighted in these columns umpteen times.
Dr Manhohan Singh paints a rosy picture for the Northeast, saying the region will be the springboard from which the country will launch an economic integration with its eastern neighbours.
But given the prevalent situation and the continued reluctance to tackle it, one might well ask: But when, Prime Minister?
