After day-long chaos and rush at fuel stations on the second day of nation-wide strike by transporters to protest the new hit-and-run law, the Centre and the protestors agreed that transport workers will resume their work immediately. Transporters went on strike over a provision of the newly enacted Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said a discussion was held with All India Motor Transport Congress representatives and said the new rules pertaining to hit-and-run cases under the BNS have not been implemented yet.
“We had discussion with All India Motor Transport Congress representatives, govt want to say that the new rule has not been implemented yet, we all want to say that before implementing Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 106 (2), we will have a discussion with All India Motor Transport Congress representatives and then only we will take a decision,” he said.
Several transporters and auto-driver associations across India are on protest against the new law on hit-and-run incidents.
Under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), which replaced the Indian Penal Code, drivers who cause a serious road accident by negligent driving and run away without informing the police or any official from the administration can face punishment of up to 10 years or a fine of Rs 7 lakh. Earlier, the punishment in such cases was two years in the IPC.
Private transport operators claim the law discourages drivers and may lead to unjust punishments. They claim that the drivers could be subject to mob violence when they attempt to transport the injured to hospitals and demand the repeal of the law.
On the protest by transport associations, and drivers against the new law on hit-and-run cases, All India Motor & Goods Transport Association President, Rajendra Kapoor said, “Our only demand from the government is that the decision should have been taken after having consultations with our stakeholders. There was no discussion with anyone on this, and no one was asked about this. There should have been prior meetings and consultations.”
“The protest has been announced by the members of All India Motor & Goods Transport Association. There should be a discussion on this issue. A misleading situation is created now. People are not completely aware of the new law”, Rajendra Kapoor further added.
“Only Home Minister Amit Shah spoke of the new law in Lok Sabha. Even the ministers don’t know of the new law properly for now. There is no protest staged by our organisation.
We are conducting a virtual meeting on Tuesday at 1:30 pm with transporters from across the country. After that, a press conference will be conducted at 3:30 pm in which we will reveal our future course of action”, Rajendra Kapoor revealed.
“Protest can never lead to a solution. We have full faith that the government will hold conversations with our members and make necessary amendments based on our recommendations”, Rajendra Kapoor further added.
Meanwhile, transporters and drivers staged protests across states. Private bus and truck drivers on Monday enforced a ‘chakka jam’ (traffic jam) across the state of Madhya Pradesh in protest against a new hit-and-run law.
A similar protest also broke out in the Chhattisgarh capital, Raipur, where bus drivers staged a demonstration against the new central law.
People at petrol pumps in Nagpur faced long queues due to protests staged on Tuesday.
Besides, about 2,000 petrol pumps, mostly in western and northern India, have run out of fuel stocks as the strike by some truckers’ associations entered the second day on Tuesday.
While state-owned oil firms had topped up tanks at most petrol pumps across the country in anticipation of the truckers’ strike, some petrol pumps in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab ran out of stock due to heavy rush, industry officials said.
Long queues were witnessed at several pumps in these states as panic set in on stocks running out.
Situation in southern India is better with no major supply disruption barring a few pumps in Hyderabad, they said.
Essential supplies of vegetables, fruits and milk too may get affected if the three-day strike is extended or a pan-India movement is launched.
Earlier, some truck, bus and tanker operators had begun a three-day strike on Monday against the stringent jail and fine regulations under the new criminal law Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) for hit-and-run cases.
The All India Motor Transport Association — the umbrella body of truck operators — has so far not given a nationwide strike call and its representatives will be meeting home ministry officials to raise their concerns around BNS.
The industry officials said most petrol pumps have stocks to last 2-3 days and should not see any problems if the strike was to last for the stated three days. However, there will be trouble if the strike is extended or a pan-India protest is called, they added.
There are about 1 lakh trucks that ferry petrol and diesel as well as LPG from oil company depots to petrol pumps and gas distribution agencies.
The strike has impacted the movement of trucks in some western and northern states, they said, adding some LPG truck movement too has been impacted.
However, there is no complaints on LPG shortage just yet as most users have double connections (two LPG cylinders) and reserve stock even if one cylinder gets exhausted.
If the strike were to get extended, LPG supplies too may get hit, they said.
In Maharashtra, the state government requested police to ensure an uninterrupted supply of petrol and diesel while commuters in Madhya Pradesh encountered travel inconvenience.
Since Monday, protestors have blockaded roads and highways across states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
The new law, which replaced the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, provides for a jail of up to 10 years and/or a fine of Rs 7 lakh for serious road accidents due to negligent driving and where drivers run away without informing the police.
Long queues at petrol pumps in Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla and Dharamshala were also reported.
Heavy rush was seen outside petrol pumps in Mumbai and Thane as people came to fill up their vehicle tanks fearing shortage of fuel.
Petrol Dealers Association, Mumbai, President Chetan Modi said that the fuel supply to petrol pumps was affected due to the drivers’ agitation since Monday. “Petrol pumps started running dry yesterday. If we don’t get the supply, most of the pumps will run out of fuel by the end of the day,” he said.
Protesters obstructed highways in several districts of Gujarat, including Kheda, Valsad, Gir Somnath, Bharuch, and Mehsana, and in places like Nagpur in Maharashtra by using trucks as blockades on roads.
Tapan Sharma, a former president of the Ahmedabad Motor Transport Association in Gujarat, said that the protests occurred spontaneously. “The association has not called for a strike. Drivers are acting independently due to concerns about the new law.
They protest briefly and then move on. However, these sporadic demonstrations have caused delays in the delivery of goods.”