Aurangabad, April 7:
Fear of lockdown has led to a new crisis facing transport business as drivers from rural areas and other states are returning to their hometowns.
The president of the transport association Fayyaz Khan said that the transport professionals in the city have about 1000 freight trucks. Around 70 to 80 per cent of the drivers are from rural areas of Marathwada, and the remaining 20 per cent drivers are from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. As the corona infection is on the rise and the lockdown has been imposed till April 30, nearly 2,500 drivers have returned to their hometowns. Many left for the Holi festival but have not returned yet. As a result, 25 to 30 per cent of the trucks are parked. Also, corona infection, lockdown and elections in some states have affected the inflow of raw materials and outflows of finished goods in the industrial estates by 15 per cent. Drivers who have gone to the village will return to the city only if the lockdown is cancelled. The association has demanded that the state government must cancel the lockdown.