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The representatives of the All India Transport Congress (AITC) reached the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in Delhi on Tuesday to meet Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla as the truck drivers’ protest continued in several parts of the country. The AITC is the umbrella body of truck operators who have launched a three-day strike over the new criminal laws passed by Parliament in the Winter Session of 2023.
At the meeting, the AITC representatives will raise their concerns over the hit-and-run provision under the new law, Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS). A three-day strike was launched on Monday by some truck, bus and tanker operators against the stringent regulations, including longer jail terms and fines, under the BNS in hit-and-run cases.
The Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, the new law that replaced the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, provides for a jail term of up to 10 years and/or a fine of ₹7 lakh for serious road accidents due to negligent driving and where drivers run away without informing the police.
Truckers said most truck drivers choose to run away even in minor accidents as they otherwise will have to face mob justice and risk their lives. “While the mobs typically go unpunished, to impose stringent punishment on drivers is unfair,” they were quoted by PTI as saying.
Meanwhile, the National Auto-Taxi-Bus Transport Federation threatened to go on strike if the Centre did not repeal a provision in the new penal law on hit-and-run road accidents.
As the mass protest continues across several states including Punjab, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, the Petrol Dealers Association, Mumbai, President Chetan Modi told PTI that the fuel supply to petrol pumps was affected due to the drivers’ agitation since Monday.
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Not just in Mumbai, long queues at petrol pumps were seen in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, and in Thane and other major cities as people resorted to panic buying.
There are about 1 lakh trucks that ferry petrol and diesel as well as LPG from oil company depots to petrol pumps and gas distribution agencies. “If the strike were to get extended, LPG supplies too may get hit,” industry officials said.
In the wake of the restricted supply of petrol and diesel because of the protest, the Chandigarh administration ordered rationing of fuel to two- and four-wheelers with immediate effect until normalcy is restored. “Effective immediately, two-wheelers are limited to a maximum of two litres (maximum value of ₹200) and four-wheelers are limited to five litres (maximum value of ₹500) of fuel per transaction,” according to an official statement.
As the situation turned grim, the All India Motor Transport Association so far refrained from issuing a nationwide strike call and its representatives reached the home ministry officials to raise their concerns about BNS.
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Published: 02 Jan 2024, 07:30 PM IST
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