Tourism promotion on one hand, unpaid transporters on the other
Morung Express News
Dimapur | November 5
A tourist couple from Australia were caught off-guard by the ‘chakka bandh’ imposed by the All Commercial Vehicle Owners Association (ACVOA). Their itinerary included travelling the length of Nagaland from Kohima to Mon via Wokha and Mokokchung. But they were forced to cut short their excursion in Mokokchung on November 4 due to the restriction imposed on the movement of all commercial vehicles by the association.
Narrating their ordeal, Vipan Mahajan told The Morung Express that they were unexpectedly stopped at Ungma village, at around 4:00 PM on Saturday evening by people, who claimed to be ‘bandh volunteers.’ Mahajan along with his wife, driver and a tour operator had started the trip from Guwahati.
“They were stopping all commercial vehicles, including trucks. There were a number of other vehicles already stopped at that point,” he said.
The indefinite bandh was imposed by the ACVOA due to the Government of Nagaland’s failure to disperse payments for services provided during the 2023 Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) election.
“No amount of pleading or negotiation on our part would budge them. Our hotel owner also tried but in vain,” Mahajan claimed.
“As there was no guarantee that we will get through Nagaland without further stoppages” and on the advice of their tour operator, he said that they had to abandon their plan of travelling to Mon district and onto Dibrugarh, Assam.
“We have been enjoying our tour of North-East India, but this leaves a very bad taste in our mouth,” said Mahajan, who was clearly unhappy.
He went on to criticise the state government’s handling of the situation, claiming that several attempts were made to reach out to local authorities for help but to no avail. According to him, the situation they faced was in stark contrast to the government’s bid to attract tourists to the state juxtaposed with the Hornbill Festival less than a month away.
Cancelling the tour midway further implied the couple forfeiting their tour package. “Nothing has been refunded to us and why should they (tour operators) as it is not their fault,” he stated.
“We wish we could have extended our stay as your famous Hornbill Festival was also coming up but now we are most reluctant to come back for another visit,” he regrettably observed.
At the same, Mahajan felt that the government should have recognised the legitimate claims of the ACVOA and pay what was owed to them.
