Pankaj Nath, Assam: Vehicular traffic on the Pengeri-Bodumsa road in Assam’s Tinsukia district was disrupted for hours on Monday as the All Assam Dumper Owners Association staged a protest against the alleged arbitrary tax collection of the forest department. The protest was held under 83 number Margherita Assembly constituency in Pengeri area, where members of the association blocked the road by erecting dumpers on the road and raised slogans against the Assam Forest Department. According to the agitating dumper owners, the forest department has imposed an additional charge of Rs 200 per cubic metre on each dumper laden with stone and sand entering Assam from neighbouring states, leading to a drastic increase in transportation costs.
The association alleges that this new excess recovery has become an unbearable financial burden on small traders and dumper owners and is hurting the construction material business. Dumper owners said that due to the additional tax policy, the income of transport operators has decreased, while the rising cost of fuel and maintenance has further weakened their financial condition. The supply of construction materials locally was also impacted, raising the concerns of small contractors and businessmen dependent on this trade. Many local youths also joined the protest and demanded the state government to immediately withdraw the additional duty of the forest department, calling it an “anti-business” policy. The road blockade led to long queues on the Pengeri-Bodumasa road causing huge inconvenience to the public and goods vehicles, though the situation returned to normalcy after some time.
The All Assam Dumper Owners Association has warned that if the forest department does not withdraw the additional levy, the agitation will be further intensified and massive protest programmes may be launched across the state. The association has appealed to the Assam government to review the decision at the earliest and address the problems of transport operators and small traders.
