Transport Strike in Chandigarh. On Wednesday morning, the rush at fuel stations reduced but supplies were still limited in many places in Chandigarh. The AIMTC said it supported the truckers as the punishment under the new law was too harsh.
After talks on late Tuesday evening between the Home Ministry and members of the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), truckers who were on a nationwide transport strike – in protest against the stringent punishment for hit-and-run cases under the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) – were back at work on Wednesday morning.
, Charan Singh Lohara, chairman of AIMTC, said, “The ministry has assured us that the law on hit-and-run cases has not been implemented yet. Discussions will take place with the transporters when they are in the process of implementation, and the interests of truck drivers and transport companies will be taken care of. After this assurance, the truck drivers decided to get back to work.” The Transport Strike in Chandigarh has Ended
“In fact, we never gave any strike call in the first place, it was the truck drivers who panicked after learning of the stringent provisions in the hit-and-run law and called off the work. The AIMTC supported them wholeheartedly as we also found the provisions to be too harsh,” Lohara said.
He added, “We never wanted to disrupt any essential services to the masses but the truck drivers panicked and the resentment was shown nationwide. We believe that the message has reached the Union government.”
On Wednesday morning, the rush at fuel stations had reduced but supplies were still limited in many places in Chandigarh. More stock will reach the fuel stations in the coming hours and the situation is expected to return to normal, as per information from fuel stations.
Amarveer Singh, president of the Wholesale Fruits and Vegetables Association, said, “On Wednesday morning, local supplies of fruits and vegetables did arrive and outstation supplies will also become normal from Thursday.”
Milk supplies of Verka, Amul etc remained normal as they had company owned drivers while private vendors also supplied milk on Wednesday early morning.
Industrialists hope fuel supplies will normalise by Thursday afternoon. Gurmeet Singh Kular, president of the Federation of Industrial and Commercial Organisations (FICO), “The government should formulate a strategy so that such a situation does not arise again. Such panic can cause huge losses to industries.”