Multiple toll gates adding to price rise of essentials: VPP

Updated: Sep 17, 2024, 15:49 IST

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The Voice of the People Party (VPP) has cited multiple toll gates on highways as a major factor behind rising essential commodity prices in Meghalaya. They called on the government to regulate these toll gates, prevent exploitation of farmers and consumers, and resolve transportation issues. Immediate action is crucial to alleviate distress among poor and marginalized groups.

Multiple toll gates adding to price rise of essentials: VPP

Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit

SHILLONG: The opposition Voice of the People Party (VPP) on Monday blamed the presence of several toll gates on the highways, among other issues, for the rise in the prices of essential commodities in the state and has urged the govt to immediately take corrective measures.
“The VPP strongly believes that this alarming price rise is exacerbated by various factors, including the presence of multiple toll gates on state and national highways, and the failure of authorities to prevent exploitation of farmers and consumers alike,” VPP president and legislator Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit wrote in a letter to CM Conrad K Sangma.
He urged the CM to regulate and monitor the functioning of toll gates and checkpoints along the highways, which are contributing significantly to the increased cost of goods in the state.
The party said, “This escalation in prices is causing immense distress to the common people, particularly the poor and marginalised sections of our society. The situation has reached a point where immediate and effective intervention from the govt is critical.”

The party has urged the govt to ensure that farmers are not exploited by middlemen and that there is a fair price mechanism to protect both producers and consumers, strengthen the department of food and civil supplies to enforce govt-fixed prices and address widespread violations of price controls.
It also urged the CM to address the transportation challenges caused by the bridge at Umiam being unsuitable for heavy-loaded vehicles as trucks carrying goods to the city are forced to take longer routes, which might have contributed to the rise in prices due to increased transportation costs.

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