Transporters start nation-wide strike against hit and run provision under BNS

NEW DELHI: The operators of truck, taxi and bus went on a nation-wide strike opposing the new provision of ₹7 lakh penalty and 10-year jail term for hit-and-run cases under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, asking the central government to withdraw the provision claiming it could lead to their undue harassment.
The three-day strike, which started on Monday, is likely to impact distribution of petrol and diesel at fuel stations and fruit and vegetable supplies in coming days. The All India Motor Transport Congress had given a call for a strike to protest against provisions in the new law, which is yet to come into force. The Congress has called a meeting on Tuesday to chalk out further course of action.
According to local transport unions in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar, private buses, trucks, oil tankers and taxis remained off road on Monday to protest against the provision. The impact of the strike was partial in most states with protests by drivers reported from various places in Punjab, Indore in Madhya Pradesh, Surat in Gujarat and Ambala in Haryana. As oil tanker drivers are also on strike, some states reported low availability of fuel.
At least 7 lakhs trucks went off the road in Punjab with drivers of government-run Punjab Roadways and private bus companies joining the strike. JP Aggarwal, president of the Ludhiana Goods Transport Association, said if the strike continues for another day, there would be fuel shortage. “Supply of vegetables, fruits and other essentials would be hit in the next few days,” he said. At several places, drivers prevented their colleagues from driving commercial vehicles with a protest staged at Shambu toll plaza at Punjab and Haryana border in Ambala district.
Anan Sharma, president All J&K petrol tankers owners’ association and J&K fuel station owners’ association said, “All the oil tankers are on strike since Monday morning. No driver has loaded the oil from oil depots because they call the new provisions “black law”, which are not acceptable to them”.
Sharma said that ₹7 lakh penalty and 10 years imprisonment proposed in hit and run case was too harsh for the drivers. “The oil tanker drivers call the provisions very harsh. They say, if they had ₹7 lakh with them, they would have bought their own vehicles and why would they have remained drivers,” said Anan Sharma. At least 1,500 tankers—800 with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), 350 with Bharat Petroleum Corporation and 350 with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation replenish supplies in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
In Madhya Pradesh, transport unions claimed that around 10,000 private buses, trucks and taxis did not run on Monday impacting public transport in the state. In several districts such as Indore, Balaghat, Ujjain, Ratlam and Bhopal, long queues of vehicles could be seen at fuel filling stations as supplied started drying up in the afternoon. Due to this there was an impact on supply to fuel stations and distribution of essentials in cities like Indore and Bhopal. Petrol pump association president Ajay Singh said, “There was a panic among people. Many fuel pumps have dried up in MP. The administration is trying to refill the pumps with the help of private tankers.” Karond Mandi vegetable vendor association president, Naseem Khan, said, “We are somehow managing limited supply of vegetables and if the strike continues for one more day, there would be shortage of fruits and vegetables.”
In Bhopal, drivers blocked the Raisen road by parking trucks on the road. A driver association leader in Bhopal, Amar Patel, said, “This is a draconian law, and the driver can’t pay fine of ₹7 lakh. We will not resume the services till amendment in the law.” In Dhar, drivers parked trucks on the Mumbai-Agra highway and stopped private vehicles. In Panna, bus-truck drivers have blocked National Highway-39 and in Dewas, the National Highway was blocked.
On Monday, around 40% of commercial vehicles in Gujarat were inactive in response to the strike. Mukesh Dave, president of the Akhil Gujarat Truck Transport Association, clarified that the strike was not initiated by any truck owners’ association. He said the drivers are protesting against the new law, leading to the impact on approximately 40% of 1.2 million commercial vehicles in Gujarat. “We are in talks with the Centre to resolve the matter, and we are also engaging with drivers to encourage them to return to work. It is important to note that the law will not be implemented immediately. I am confident that an amicable solution will be worked out,” said Dave.
In Himachal Pradesh, the state-run Himachal Road Transport Corporation expressed fear of running short of fuel due to the strike. “Undoubtedly, the strike has impacted the HRTC,” said HRTC managing director Rohan Chand Thakur. HRTC has a fleet of nearly 3,200 buses providing connectivity to remote parts of the state. Himachal deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri said they were in touch with oil supplying companies but the truck unions in Haryana are not allowing them to enter Himachal. “Consequently, we will have to ration fuel and cut down the bus routes,” he said.
Officials said there was a huge demand for fuel due to New Year celebrations and now limited amount of fuel is left in around 600 filling stations across the state. “Right now, tanker drivers are on strike, and I believe the filling stations will go dry in the next few days,” said Bawa Hardeep Singh President of All India Trade Union Congress. Private bus operators have threatened to join the strike from Tuesday.
In Haryana, nearly 200 buses remained off-road in various districts of North Haryana as private bus operators and drivers observed a complete shutdown of services in Ambala, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar and other districts. There was also no lifting of fuel from Panipat Oil Refinery, which supplies fuel to several fuel stations across various districts in Haryana. Truck operators said that they will submit a memorandum to the district administration against the new provision in a day or two.
In West Bengal, a few hundred truck and commercial vehicle drivers blocked the NH2 near Dankuni toll plaza in Hooghly district for more than two hours to protest the new penal laws for hit and run cases. “There has been no effect on supply and prices of commodities till date,” said Kamal Dey, member of the task force set up by the state government on agriculture marketing.