The all-India strike by the transporters severely affected the routine life in different parts of Uttarakhand on Friday. People faced hardships as many transport service providers joined the strike convened by All India Motor Transport Congress. In Dehradun, the people were inconvenienced as the city buses, Vikrams, Maxi Cabs, autos and other public transport vehicles were off the roads. Many school and college students who commute on public transport and contract carriage vehicles could not attend their institutions on the day. Notably, Congress and Aam Aadami Party (AAP) are supporting the strike.
In Dehradun alone, 300 city buses plying on eight different routes, 2600 auto rickshaws, 794 Vikrams and 250 Tata Magic vehicles were taken off the road, bringing the city to a grinding halt.
The president of the city bus association Vijay Vardhan Dandariyal said that the city bus operators are facing problems due to new rules imposed by the Government. The president of Uttarakhand Transport Federation D S Mann claimed that about 2 lakh trucks are participating in the strike in the state. Notably, the truck operators are on an indefinite strike. In Kumaon region, over 40000 truck operators kept their vehicles off the roads. The people living in the mountainous areas were the most inconvenienced as they commute on private buses and taxis which were off the roads.
The transporters say that they are disturbed over the constant rise in diesel prices and spiralling toll expenses. The transport associations are demanding that the diesel prices should be brought under Goods and Services Tax (GST) so that there is uniform pricing across the country. They say that the revisions in prices should be a quarterly affair. The associations are demanding a toll barrier- free movement across the country and national permit for buses and tourist vehicles.
The transporters also demand transparency and reduction in third party insurance premiums and abolition of TDS.