Truckers on 2-day countrywide strike

WEST BENGAL, MADHYA PRADESH, KARNATAKA AND OTHER STATES WERE AFFECTED BUT LARGESCALE EFFECTS ON PRICE OF ESSENTIAL ITEMS WERE NOT SEEN

NEWDELHI:HUNDREDS of thousands of trucks went off the road on Monday as part of a two-day nationwide strike to protest against rising diesel prices and the goods and services tax (GST).

The strike affected states such as West Bengal, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh but large-scale adverse effects on the prices of food or essential items were absent. Impact in trucking hubs of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra was minimal. “Transporters all over the country are up in arms against GST, diesel prices, harassment of truck operators and corruption on roads and toll policies,” said Bal Malkit Singh, chairman of the core committee of All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC).

The body claimed nearly 10 million truck operators and other transporters remained off the roads but government authorities in several places such as Mumbai and Lucknow reported negligible impact. “This is our token strike, and if the government does not do the needful, we will call an indefinite strike after Diwali,” Singh added. About a million people, including drivers, cleaners, porters and their support staff were also participating.

In West Bengal, the Calcutta Goods Transport Association (CGTA) claimed nearly 60% of 800,000 trucks were off the roads but another major body, Federation of West Bengal Truck Operators’ Association, didn’t participate in the strike. “We gave relaxations to trucks carrying essential items. Had we not, the impact of the strike would have been much more,” CGTA president Prabhat Kumar Mittal said.

In Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, the strike paralysed supplies to the vegetable and fruit hubs, sparking fears of price increase.

In Bhopal, the impact was mixed but observers said smaller towns were spared because farmers relied less on transporters. Government officials said they were still assessing the situation.