Shillong: Local truckers are fighting back. Members of the Meghalaya Commercial Truck Owners and Drivers Association met Friday in Laitkor to air a long list of grievances against state authorities and industrial employers. They claim their livelihoods are evaporating.
Association chairman Moslander Marngar pointed to widespread weight manipulation in government foodgrain shipments. He said trucks carrying rice face unauthorised weight deductions, a practice known as kilo cutting. This fraud hits hardest in the Nongstoiñ area and drains profits from operators already battling steep overhead costs.
The association also slammed new rules that ban trucks from stopping along highways. Drivers say these restrictions choke their daily income. Meanwhile, non-local transporters are muscling in on the state’s industrial sector. Marngar alleges that cement factories now prefer outside trucks over local operators. He noted that the coal trade, once a reliable source of work for locals, has left them behind.
“Today, local truck owners have become mere spectators,” Marngar said. The union argues indigenous transporters are being pushed out of their own economy. They are demanding government action to protect local jobs before the situation worsens.
Updated at 15th August 2026 at 9:48pm
Marngar clarified the scope of the displacement within the coal trade. He alleged that vehicles from outside the state are now being used to haul coal while local operators are left on the sidelines.
Comments