Bihar: Truckers Launch Indefinite Strike, Demand Scrapping of Motor Vehicles Act
Representational Image. Image Courtesy: ET Auto
Patna: Thousands of trucks remain off the roads in Bihar on Wednesday, October 23, after the Bihar Truck Owners’ Association (BTOA) launched an indefinite strike, demanding scrapping of the new Motor Vehicles Act and others. The truck strike is set to badly hit the normal supply of essential commodities and other goods during the festive season of Diwali and Chhath.
Truck owners and operators launched an indefinite statewide strike from Tuesday midnight after its talks with the state government failed over the demands. “We have launched this indefinite strike as the government is not ready to fulfill our demands,” president of (BTOA) Bhanu Sekhar Prasad Singh told NewsClick.
He said that most of the over 5 lakh trucks have remained off the roads, which will affect the supply of a number of commodities including foods, grains, construction materials to luxury items. He added, “Trucks are the lifeline of Bihar, and the truckers’ strike is bound to hit the economy, amid this slowdown.”
He further said, “We have been demanding the replacing og the new Motor Vehicles Act with the previous version and the restoration of heavy vehicles movement on some bridges.”
Another truck owner, Rajeev Singh said, “Truck operators have been forced to go on indefinite strike because the new Motor Vehicles Act have added to our already existing woes. It is also not helping us in any way to increase our profit. We are being harassed, mentally tortured and compelled to pay hefty penalties under new MV Act.”
Saket Kumar, owner of three trucks, told NewsClick. “We fail to understand why Bihar government has implemented the new MV Act, when other NDA-ruled states like Gujarat and Maharashtra have not implemented it to the full extent. We are fed up with the government’s move not to cooperate with truck owners.”
Singh also alleged that the state government has been trying to the downplay the affect of the strike by referring to one or two small truck associations’ decision to not join the strike. He said, “The truckers’ strike is clearly effective and quite visible as thousands of trucks have been standing off the national and state highways across the state.”
According to him, the country’s transport sector is going through a slowdown as business is witnessing decrease.
With the indefinite strike of trucks underway, the price of fruits and other goods are likely to go up in the coming days and people will have to pay more from their pockets.
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