IMPHAL, March 30: Top officials of the Transport Department today appealed to bus owners to resume services. Bus owners had suspended services on all routes in protest against state inaction towards their demands.
A joint meeting was convened today by the Transport Department in Imphal to sort out differences between the All Manipur Bus Owners Federation(AMBOF) and All Lamka Taxi Owners Society (ALTOS).
Besides representatives from both the associations, the meeting was attended by Principal Secretary (Transport) Ram Muivah, Transport director BK Sharma and DIG Bimol Sharma, DIG Bimol Sharma.
Bus association and Tata Wingers association plying along Churachanpur –Imphal route are presently at loggerheads.
Meeting members of the press at the Manipur Press Club ALTOS chairman Rangtu Koireng said, members of the association have been harassed.
He charged that one Tata winger, MN01X/4512, driven by one Inaobi was transporting passengers to Churachandpur when he was waylaid by two bolero jeeps near Harvard School, Airport Road on March 22 morning. Later, the passengers were transferred to a bus and the papers of the Tata winger was snatched away.
He further said, ‘Inaobi was also roughed up by the Bolero borne persons. The persons belongs to the Imphal Churchandpur Bus Owners and Workers Association.’
ALTOS informed the Churachandpur District Students’ Association (CDSA) about the incident, and the student organization tried to mediate between the associations but AMBOF did not cooperate, he added.
However, when the Tata wingers resumed services on March 28, they were threatened by members of the bus association near Nityaipat Chuthek.
Decrying the insensitiveness of the bus association and their negligence of the talks held earlier, the association had ceased plying from March 28 onwards.
The association chairman said, the Tata wingers will begin plying from April 2 onwards and the government should be responsible for any unwanted incidents.
He clarified that the association is not involvement in the burning of a bus at Keishampat on March 26 and condemns the incident.
