The ire of truckers continued for the second day on Thursday causing a loss of Rs1,000 crore and drastically cutting the supply of commodities
NEW DELHI: The ire of truckers continued for the second day on Thursday causing a loss of Rs1,000 crore and drastically cutting the supply of commodities in various parts of the country, including the national capital.
Making the condition worse for the citizens of Delhi, the wholesale vegetable markets were affected by the double whammy of the truckers strike and the national bandh called by the BJP, causing an additional loss of Rs300 crore in Delhi alone.
Though the truckers have suggested that they do not want to cause difficulty to people and won’t block vehicles carrying essential commodities, the supply of food materials in wholesale markets fell considerably.
“We have had three meetings with the government in the past two days but there is no breakthrough because the government is not ready to accept our legitimate demands. If the government wants, this problem can be solved in just one day,” said Bahadur Singh, member All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) and a transporter with over 50 trucks.
Singh also said that they have issued strict orders to the 48 lakh truckers asking them not to block farmers carrying essential commodities but said he suspected some truckers might still try to stop the farmers as well, which will start affecting the people.
The truckers are on strike against the number of highway taxes imposed by the government and the rising diesel prices. “The government charges a tax on diesel on per litre basis but we have demanded that they should charge the tax per barrel. And we also want the government to give us some rebate in the service tax because apart from this tax we end up paying toll tax all across the country,” said DK Sharma, advisor to AIMTC.
Sharma further informed that some states have also started demanding that truckers install speed governors, a demand which the truckers vehemently refuse to accept.
“This is not acceptable to us and the government will have to withdraw this illogical demand. I have 50 trucks and it is impossible for me to install speed governors in all of them,” said Singh.
v_gyan@dnaindia.net
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