Ranchi: Truck and bus drivers are also protesting against the new hit-and-run law in Jharkhand. Due to this, people traveling long distances are facing problems. The crisis of petrol and diesel may also deepen. Its effect is visible on the prices of fruits, vegetables and food items.
On Tuesday too, drivers demonstrated and blocked roads in all the districts of Jharkhand. Jharkhand Mazdoor Union has also supported their movement. Its effect was visible on long distance buses in the capital Ranchi. Autos running in the city are running like normal days.
Even after this protest, buses are operating from many places. Some buses ran from Jamshedpur to Ranchi. After the lathi charge incident at Dimna Chowk in the evening, one or two buses which were scheduled to run were postponed.
In Transport Nagar located in Mango, the drivers left 1000 trucks-trailers and went to their respective homes. There are almost no buses, trucks and autos running in all areas of Dhanbad region. People are facing a lot of problems due to the protests.
There is a problem of shortage of LPG due to non-availability of trucks from Jharkhand’s gas bottling plant to Ranchi. The crisis regarding petrol may also increase due to non-arrival of petrol tankers. This is the reason why people have turned to petrol pumps in Simdega, due to which long queues were formed outside the pumps at many places.
The supply of food grains has also been affected due to the strike. People traveling long distances have been affected due to non-operation of buses. Here, the drivers held a meeting at Albert Ekka Stadium and decided the outline of the movement and said that the new law was not beneficial for the drivers.
The drivers said that their agitation will continue until this law is not withdrawn. The new rule says that if the driver flees from the spot after a road accident without informing the police about the collision, he will have to pay 10 years of jail and a fine.
Truck drivers are protesting against this in many states, truck drivers have gone on strike and blockade in many states including Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand.
Not only truck drivers but also bus, taxi and auto drivers are opposing it, the new rules will be equally applicable to private vehicle drivers also. They say that the provisions of the new law are too strict.