A three-day strike by transporters, claims non-turnover of Rs 2,000 crore

The organizations involved within the strike are demanding that VAT be reduced on diesel and exemption in road tax and GST for 2 quarters of this fiscal year, citing COVID-19’s hit on the transport business. Also, COVID-19 should be insured for truck drivers by the government.

A major organization of transporters claimed on Monday that on the primary day of its strike in Madhya Pradesh, a turnover of Rs 2,000 crore within the state came to a standstill and it caused a loss of tax income of about Rs 400 crore to the state exchequer.

Organizations involved within the strike are demanding relief from the govt citing COVID-19’s attack on the transport business.

They say that the worth added tax (VAT) on diesel should be reduced and exemption in road tax (road tax) and goods and services tax (GST) in two quarters of this fiscal year (April-June and July-September).

There is also a requirement from organizations that COVID-19 be insured for truck drivers by the government.

Vijay Kalra, vice-president (western region) of All India Motor Transport Congress, led by the organizations involved within the strike, said, “On the primary day of our three-day lockdown (strike), about 6.5 lakh commercial vehicles stopped within the state. These include trucks and little commercial vehicles.

He said, ‘On the primary day of this lockdown, a business of Rs 2,000 crore of various products came to a standstill, causing a loss of tax income of about Rs 400 crore to the govt.

Meanwhile, the availability of essential commodities was suffering from the strike of the transporters in Indore, called the state’s financial capital.
The supply of raw materials sent to varied industries including Mandideep, Govindpura, BHEL was completely disrupted.

Due to the strike, the wheels of quite 1.25 lakh of 70 thousand divisions in Bhopal district and quite seven lakh trucks and freight vehicles were stopped throughout the state. Transporters shouted slogans in support of the stress by erecting trucks and freight vehicles at Transport Nagar, Itwara, Budhwara, etc. in Bhopal.

According to the state vice-chairman of All India Motor Transport Congress Ajay Sharma, whether from Kashmir to Kanyakumari or Delhi to Mumbai or South India, 80 percent of the trains need to undergo Madhya Pradesh. Every day quite 35 thousand trains undergo different places of the state. Aside from this, a million families here are directly or indirectly connected with this business.

However, Ramesh Khandelwal, president of the traders’ association Ahilya Chambers of Commerce and Industries, said, “Since the transporters had announced their strike a couple of days beforehand. insight of this, the traders had already stocked enough goods. By the way, we support the stress of transporters.

At an equivalent time, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has also supported the strike of transport organizations. He tweeted and said, “Congress supports their demands and that we demand from the govt that they ought to tend relief immediately by accepting their demands within the public interest.”