On Tuesday, it will be a month since disaster hit many parts of Uttarakhand. The truck drivers transporting relief materials to affected areas continue to face problems they did at the time of start of the relief works.
Many drivers are not used to driving on mountain roads, especially roads damaged by heavy rains. Many trucks and other small loaders can still be seen parked on the Parade Ground for transporting the relief materials to the affected areas, but the problems faced by the truckers have not yet been addressed.
They are still complaining about the issues which they faced earlier and are feeling helpless in the situation.
On Monday, 23 trucks were sent to collect relief materials in the first shift. A police officer on duty at Parade Ground said that the ground may be occupied by the trucks till the end of this month. Truck drivers Satish Kumar and Raju who are residents of Saharanpur expressed their problem of access to food in the affected areas. "We have to remain hungry due to short supply of food items in those areas and are not given any money for that purpose," said Satish.
"The shortage of diesel is another problem for us. We need to be provided with more diesel to reach the destination and return to Dehradun. We either end up being stuck on the way back or sometimes don't even reach the destination," said Raju. Another trucker Ashok Kumar Mishra, a resident of Gonda, is facing inconvenience due to this operation.
His truck has been acquired and he has been assigned to carry relief materials to Uttarkashi. He is awaiting his turn, but is scared to drive to Uttarkashi as he is accustomed to driving in the plains and not in the mountains. Another trucker, Birender Pundir, who had come to collect his transport papers describes the road conditions as very bad.
He added, "I am a local and I am accustomed to driving on mountain roads but despite that I had to face many problems during the trip. It was my good luck that I came back safe," he said. The issues being raised by the truck drivers are still the same as they were earlier - lack of food, limited supply of diesel and risk to their lives along with the concerns of their family members. They understand the need of the hour and are ready to work if they are provided with the guarantee of some reimbursement for their service.