SETS 7-DAY DEADLINE FOR ACTION AGAINST MISCREANTS
While giving a seven-day respite to LPG customers suffering due to its indefinite stir since July 13, All Kohima Indane Distributors’ Association (AKIDA) has also set a one-week deadline for the State government to act on its demand to take action against the miscreants who assaulted two drivers of LPG vehicles.
Following appeals from Association of Kohima Municipal Wards Panchayat (AKMWP) and Angamimiapfü Mechü Krotho (AMK) during a joint meeting held at Kohima on Monday to discuss the situation arising out of the strike, AKIDA agreed to temporary withdraw its indefinite strike. However, it set a rider that the government should take action against the perpetrators within these seven days. AKIDA announced it would resume its services from Wednesday, but warned of resuming its indefinite strike once again after expiry of seven days if the government fails to come up with an acceptable solution.
In a representation to deputy chief minister Y Patton, who is also in-charge of home department, AKIDA president Kuolachalie Seyie and general secretary Tseibou Dzüvichü said they were deeply pained to see frequent incidents of assault and all kinds of menace in the forms of extortion, illegal taxation and mental harassment caused to the business community in the State.
They regretted that even after submitting representations to chief secretary, director general of police and commissioner on July 18 seeking safety and security of the business community, they did not get any satisfactory assurance till date whether appropriate action would be taken.
Stating that it understood the inconveniences caused to people due to stoppage of supplying LPG cylinders, AKIDA informed the deputy chief minister that it would resume its services from Wednesday while also demanding that “appropriate legal action” should be taken against the miscreants behind the assaults on the LPG vehicle drivers on July 4 and 9 within the next seven days. The representation however warned that if the government failed to take any “concrete legal action” against the five miscreants, it would resume its indefinite strike. The association reminded Patton that, being in charge of the home department, he had been entrusted with the constitutional responsibility of safeguarding life and liberty of people.
AKIDA said the State machinery should play the role it was expected to in an established democratic set-up.
Mentioning that people had suffered enough, the association asserted that illegal taxation, assaults, harassment, etc, on the business community would not be tolerated.
On July 18, AKIDA, in a representation addressed to chief secretary, commissioner and DGP, demanded legal action against miscreants involved in the assaults on LPG drivers on July 4 and 9, 2020 and protection of the lives and security of LPG distributors (AKIDA) and business community in the state in general.