Services Commence In Odisha As Truckers Call Off Stir

Bhubaneswar: Road transport services resumed in Odisha on Saturday with the truckers calling off their eight-day-long nationwide strike the previous evening.

“A joint statement from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) clarified that the agitation stands withdrawn. A decision in this regard was taken after the officials of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways assured the AIMTC members of fulfilling most of their demands within six months”, said Odisha Truck Owners’ Association general secretary Rabinarayan Satpathy.

Stating that the government had agreed to consider their demands, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday evening tweeted, “The government is sensitive to the demands of the transporters. We have accepted many of their demands. We have formed a high-level committee to consider the last remaining one.”

The Odisha State Truck Owners’ Federation (OSTOF) had joined the indefinite nationwide truckers stir call given by the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) on July 20.

Transporters’ demands included a reduction in central and state taxes by bringing diesel under the GST so that price of the deregulated commodity can be reduced.

Essential commodities, however, was kept out of the strike’s purview.

Keeping the nationwide truckers stir in view, the Odisha government on June 4 had invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), 1988.

In a notification, the home department had said that the ESMA order will remain in force for six months. During this period, no transport association in the state can go on a strike and action would be taken against those violating the order.

Trade lobby Assocham estimated direct and indirect loss of over Rs. 50,000 crore to the economy because of the strike.