Shillong, June 2: The taxi drivers of Shillong have decided to knock the door of the Meghalaya High Court to challenge the recent order of the East Khasi Hills District Administration, which has directed the local cabbies and commercial buses to ply in and around Khyndailad (Police Bazaar) and Motphran on odd-even system to reduce the traffic congestion in the city.

The East Khasi Hills Local Taxi Welfare Association (EKHLTWA) and the Synjuk Ki Nongniah Taxi Sor bad Khapsor (SNTSK) met East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner RM Kurbah to register their strong protest against the move of the government and to revoke the order.

However, Kurbah told the local taxi drivers that the order cannot be revoked and it was passed based to an order passed by the Meghalaya High Court.

After the meeting, EKHLTWA president Wandonbok Jyrwa said the association has decided to appeal to the Meghalaya High Court against the order which is affecting the livelihood of the taxi owners and taxi drivers. He said the government should also be reminded that taxis are paying hefty taxes and disallowing them to ply through these two areas only shows that they are being treated as “slaves”.

“Further, the government should also find out the real cause of the traffic jam in Shillong. To say that taxis are the only cause contributing to the traffic jam is not acceptable as there are also many private vehicles plying in the city. Therefore, we will appeal before the Court to ensure there is no biasness done to the local taxis,” he added.

The DC has ordered that local taxis and commercial buses, including SSPTS – maxi cabs and SPTS buses, having registration numbers ending with odd digits (1,3,5,7,9) are to ply only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; and vehicles having registration numbers ending in even digits (0,2,4,6,8) are to ply only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Such restriction shall not apply on Sundays.

Furthermore, every vehicle should only bear a High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) and a copy of the vehicle’s Registration Certificate should be made available for inspection at any given time. The order had also said that anyone found driving with tampered number plates shall be dealt with strictly in accordance with relevant provisions of the law, including revocation of driver’s license.