Meghalaya: The simmering dispute over restrictions on Assam-registered tourist vehicles in Meghalaya boiled over on Thursday when protestors at Jorabat blocked the vehicle of former Meghalaya Education Minister and NPP legislator Rakkam A. Sangma.

A large crowd, mainly Assam taxi drivers, surrounded Sangma’s car, demanding he return to Meghalaya and forcing his vehicle to turn back. He eventually crossed the blockade under Assam Police escort. Later, Sangma posted a video confirming the confrontation and his narrow escape.

The blockade also targeted Meghalaya-registered tourist vehicles, preventing them from entering Assam and creating massive traffic jams at the inter-state border. Sangma urged taxi associations from both states to open dialogue, warning that continued confrontation would only hurt ordinary people.

The flashpoint comes amid ongoing protests by the All Khasi Meghalaya Tourist Taxi Association (AKMTTA), which is demanding a ban on Assam tourist taxis operating in Meghalaya’s tourist hotspots. The association insists Assam vehicles should drop passengers at designated points, where local cabs would take over.

Reacting to the crisis, Meghalaya BJP legislator and former minister Alexander Laloo Hek condemned the blockade, revealing he had received complaints of ambulances being stopped en route to major hospitals in Guwahati, including Apollo and Health City.

“Ambulances and patients cannot be stopped from crossing state lines. The road in question is a National Highway; no state has the right to block public movement except for valid law-and-order checks,” Hek said.

He stressed that tourists with valid All India taxi permits have the right to travel without arbitrary restrictions, and rejected proposals to force passengers to switch vehicles mid-route. Hek added that the Jorabat corridor is a vital transit route for Silchar, Manipur, and Nagaland, and any obstruction would cause severe inconvenience.

Calling the harassment of tourists “wrong and unacceptable,” Hek urged both Assam and Meghalaya authorities to coordinate immediately to restore normal traffic flow and ensure public convenience is not sacrificed to the dispute.

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