Vehicle owners' clash sparks tension

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 10 FEB: After Pakuahat in Bamongola, now it’s the turn of Gazole town in Malda district. Tension sparked in the area here this morning after a clash broke out between the “illegal” motorised three-wheeler van owners and passenger vehicle owners.

Trouble broke out following an altercation between them for carrying passengers. Three wheeler vans’ owners backed by the political parties turned violent when more than three vans were set on fire allegedly by the trekkers’ drivers. Police and fire fighters rushed to the spot to douse the fire.

Both passenger vehicles’ association backed by the Malda Bus and Mini Bus Owners’ Association blocked the state highway at Gazole stand. On the other hand, hundreds of van owners blocked the same road in another spot near Jamtala.

Though two road blocks were withdrawn after police intervention and lathicharge police apprehended a fresh clash between the two groups.

Yesterday, traffic was disrupted on the Pakuahat-Nalagola route following a clash between the passenger vehicles’ workers and motorised van owners. They blocked the road twice at Pakuahat. Today, passenger vehicles were off the road on the Pakuahat-Nalagola route.

It may be noted the district administration recently has banned the illegal motorised vans for carrying passengers on the four state highways following the movement of the passengers’ vehicles owners association. The decision was taken on 12 January.

Huge police forces were deployed to brig the situation under control in Gazole.

The convener of the Malda, North and South Dinajpur passenger vehicles’ forum Mr Kajal Roy denied the charges that their members set fire to a motorised van this morning.

“Some miscreants set fire to a motorised van. Police will be able to identify them”, Mr Roy said.

The additional SP Mr Kalyan Mukherjee said: “It would be very difficult to defuse the crisis set off by the passenger vehicles’ works”.

“We would start specific case against them. We are apprehending that motorised van owners will take revenge”. “We can wind up the motorised vans from the district but it is now difficult because political leaders are backing them”, Mr Mukherjee said.

It may be noted that CPI-M and on the other hand SUCI have formed unions for the protection of ‘illegal’ motorised van owners.

The additional district magistrate, Mr Kajal Banerjee, who is also in charge of the district magistrate now, said: “Trouble broke out after four motorised van were set on fire in Gazole. There was retaliation between the two groups. Situation is now under control after police intervention”.

The distort magistrate Mr Sridhar Ghosh has convened an all party meeting including political leaders on 12 February where the matter would be discussed, Mr Banerjee said.

The Malda DM called the meting on 12 February on the issue of passenger vehicles’ forum’s indefinite strike from 15 February in three districts.

Passenger vehicles’ associations of the three districts – Malda, North and South Dinajpur- have united and called an indefinite strike from 15 February in three districts demanding action against motorised vans which have been plying and carrying passengers on state and national highways ignoring administrative decisions.

The Malda bus owners association alleged that motorised van owners are still preventing movement of passenger vehicles from entering South Dinajpur at Jamtala in Gazole.