Strike By Odisha Motor Transportation Workers Set To Cause Fuel Scarcity

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Motor Transportation Workers’ Association launched an indefinite strike on Monday protesting the new punishment rule for drivers under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), raising fear about petrol and diesel shortage in the state.

As part of their protest, the members of the association have stopped loading petrol and diesel from fuel depots. A leader of the association told reporters at Paradip that loading of fuel at oil depots in the port town has been stopped.

As a result, the state is likely to face a fuel crisis as the supply will be severely affected because of the strike.

General Secretary of Utkal Petroleum Dealers’ Association Sanjay Lath said that the stock of petrol and diesel has already been diminished at several filling stations due to the strike by the drivers earlier. Though the drivers have suspended their strike, only 25 to 30 per cent of oil has been replenished.

Stating that the state will face severe fuel shortage if the Odisha Motor Transportation Workers’ Association continues with the strike, he said the government should take necessary measures to maintain normalcy in oil supply.

On the other hand, Odisha Bus Owners’ Association and Odisha Truck Owners’ Association have not extended support to the strike.

Odisha Bus Owners’ Association Treasurer Barada Prasanna Acharya said the association has urged the authorities to ensure that bus services across the state are not disrupted by the strike and to take preventive measures against untoward incidents.

The bus operators oppose the strike as passengers have not been given a 36-hour notice though the demand is genuine, he said.

Similarly, the Truck Owners’ Association has also decided not to extend support to the strike.

Terming the new hit and run law brought by the Centre as ‘draconian’, Odisha Motor Transportation Workers’ Association General Secretary Raj Kumar Lenka said 10 years imprisonment and Rs seven lakh fine proposed under the new measure would be opposed tooth and nail. The association wants the government to withdraw the new law forthwith, he said.