Mumbai, Jan 2 Hundreds of truck drivers on Tuesday called off their ongoing impromptu two-day agitation in at least four districts of Maharashtra, but it continues in other districts of the state.
The truckers, owing allegiance to local organisations, have withdrawn their stir in Nashik, Kolhapur, Pune and Nagpur, but their leaders are firm on their main demand.
However, the agitation continued in places like Ahmednagar, Gondia, Nanded, Bhandara, Yavatmal, Hingoli, Washim, Thane, Palghar, Jalgaon, Solapur, Nandurbar, Wardha, Latur, Beed and other locations with truckers staging road blocks, protest marches and raising slogans against the government, leading to traffic snarls on many roads and highways.
The truckers are demanding repeal of the new Motor Vehicle Act’s stringent provision of 10 years jail and Rs 7 lakhs fine in hit-and-run accident cases.
As the agitation spread, State Transport buses in some parts of the state were affected with cancellations or rescheduling, though there are sufficient stocks of fuel at most depots, officials assured.
In parts of Nashik, Pune tourist taxis also joined the agitation to support the truckers and sought rollback of the MV Act rules, while local associations of school buses in major cities are likely to join the stir from Wednesday.
The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Nationalist Congress Party (SP) have slammed the Centre over the new rules and demanded that these should be repealed immediately.
The two-day spontaneous protests have hit supplies of petrol-diesel, milk, fruits and vegetables, foodgrains and other essentials to urban centres like Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nagpur and other cities, with fears of shortages and consequently price hikes.
Taking serious note, the state government on Tuesday decided to give police escorts to fuel tankers from the PSU companies’ oil depots to the retail petrol pumps where two policemen shall be stationed to control the massive panicky crowds queuing up for refill.
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