Loot through auto, tuk-tuk fare in Silchar; Students blocked road at Capital Point

The students of Cachar and GC College Silchar blocked the road in Capital Point – the entry and exit point of the city. Maintaining social distancing norms and all COVID protocols, the students sat on the road blocking vehicular traffic.

Their demand is that the administration must awaken from its slumber and take action against the loot going on in Silchar in the name of transportation charges. Snehal Chakraborty, a student of GC College, agitating there said that the inflation in fare is unjustified and the way administration has been ignoring the issue is unacceptable.

“Where during the pre-pandemic period we could travel from Borjalenga to our respective colleges in Silchar by spending around Rs 50, today were are forced to pay around Rs 150 – 200. This is digging a hole in our pocket,” said Chakraborty.

It is worth mentioning here that the students of various colleges had held a protest couple of weeks back too. “We were then assured by an officer in Cachar District administration that within seven days, we will see a difference on the ground. Today, fourteen days later, the fare is the same. The administration basically did nothing. So, we decided to block the road,” added Chakraborty.

After vehicular traffic remained disrupted for about an hour. Circle officer Dhrubojyoti Pathak along with a transport officer reached the spot and engaged in a dialogue with the protesting students. “We respect the administration and the assurances given by the Circle Officer Pathak. That is why, after they assured they will conduct random checking and bring the fare under control, we have decided to withdraw the blockade,” informed Chakraborty.

However, he made it clear that if the fare is not regularised within seven days, the protest will get bigger and the students will block the road at various junctures of the town.

Auto, TukTuk, and other means of public transport owners had doubled the fare during the pandemic. They justified their action by stating that since the number of passengers they could accommodate has halved due to the COVID guidelines, they are forced to charge double. The Government of Assam retracted the 50% cap imposed keeping the COVID situation in mind and now the vehicles are allowed to accommodate passengers to its approved capacity.

Despite that, the public transport owners have not corrected the fare. They continue to charge double and if passengers resist, they rebut by hurling abuses. Now whether the administration takes strict action and brings the fare back to normal is something that remains to be seen.