Truckers stick to their guns, threaten to ‘hit the streets’

NEW DELHI: The nationwide truckers��� strike entered its second day on Tuesday affecting supplies to major wholesale vegetable markets across the country, where sales remained strong. There was no sign of an end to the stand-off with the government refusing to yield to the truckers��� demands and the truckers unwilling to climb down from their position.

The trucker���s associations are demanding a reduction in diesel prices, service tax exemption, waiver of toll charges and cut in prices of truck tyres.

The All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) said that its 4,000-odd members ���will hit the streets��� if the government tries to revoke their licences. On Monday, transport secretary Brahm Dutt had told the strikers to end the stir or face cancellation of permits to ply trucks.

���We will continue with the strike till our demands are met. We urge Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene to bring an early solution,��� AIMTC president Charan Singh said.

On its part, the government, in a bid to keep prices under a check, turned to the Railways to maintain the supplies of essentials.

The National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has said that the continuation of the strike ���can push inflation up by 50 basis points on account of shortage of perishable goods and panic buying by traders���.

The government on Monday exempted sub-contractors from service tax on eight services provided to transporters, but was unwilling to yield to the ���blackmail��� by truckers on Tuesday.