Nongpoh, September 3: Ri-Bhoi Deputy Commissioner Abhishek Saini on Thursday assured that the district administration would take up the issues raised by the Meghalaya Commercial Truck Owners and Drivers Association (MCTODA), particularly the difficulties faced by truck drivers due to the lack of designated parking spaces along the four-lane highway in Ri-Bhoi district.
It may be recalled that the MCTODA, led by its president, had recently submitted a representation to the office of the Deputy Commissioner highlighting the difficulties faced by truck drivers, who are no longer allowed to park along National Highway-6 in Ri-Bhoi due to restrictions imposed by the police and the need to comply with a Supreme Court order aimed at ensuring the safety of the public travelling on major highways.
Speaking to the media, Deputy Commissioner Abhishek Saini said that the demand raised by the truck drivers’ association was a genuine one, as truck drivers were indeed facing difficulties because there were no designated places where they could park their vehicles along the highway following the Supreme Court order and its enforcement by the police authorities.
He further said that a Road Safety Committee was already in place and that the issue would be discussed in detail through the committee, particularly the difficulties faced by truck drivers due to the absence of designated parking areas along the highway.
The Deputy Commissioner also informed that NHIDCL and NHAI had already made preparations to construct designated truck parking areas or parking bays. However, the process was facing difficulties as some people had encroached upon the land identified for the purpose. The district administration has already issued notices to the landowners concerned, directing them to remove the encroachments so that the parking bays could be constructed along the highway.
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To find an immediate solution and provide parking facilities for trucks along the highway, the Deputy Commissioner said his office would convene an urgent meeting involving NHIDCL, NHAI, the Transport Department, Police Department, petrol pump owners and representatives of the MCTODA. The meeting would discuss and deliberate on possible solutions to address the difficulties being faced by truck drivers due to the lack of designated parking spaces.
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He further said that he would also take up the matter with his counterpart, the Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup District to explore possible solutions and to identify parking spaces for trucks in this interstate border road, either at petrol pumps or other suitable locations, until permanent truck parking bays are constructed.
