New Delhi: Nationwide protests by truck drivers, sparked by the newly-enacted criminal code’s increased penalties for hit-and-run cases, caused disruptions in fuel supplies recently. The government resolved the issue after a late-night meeting between Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and representatives of the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC).
Following the meeting, Ajay Bhalla stated, “The government wants to say that the new law has not been implemented yet. We want to say that before implementing Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 106/2, we will have a discussion with All India Motor Transport Congress representatives.”
Truck drivers had staged protests across multiple states, including Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal. They demanded the withdrawal of a provision in the recently passed Bharat Nyay Sanhita, which increased the imprisonment period for hit-and-run cases from two to ten years.
AIMTC informed if the law remained unchanged, a significant number of drivers would leave their jobs. Approximately 60-70% of trucks had stayed off the roads during the two-day protests, impacting a majority of the country’s one crore truck drivers.
Officials in the Home Ministry explained the confusion surrounding Section 106 (2) of the Bharat Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). While Section 106 (1) prescribes a punishment of 0-5 years, Section 106 (2) stipulates a punishment of 0-10 years for ‘hit and run’ cases.
The strike affected the supply of petrol and diesel to auto fuel retail outlets, depleting stocks in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Punjab. Motorists in urban areas of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh experienced long queues near petrol pumps in Hyderabad, Warangal, and Vijayawada.
In Secunderabad, LPG bulk tanker drivers participated in the strike. Maharashtra faced inconvenience due to a complete halt of petrol supply.
Uday Lodh, President of the Consortium of Indian Petroleum Dealers (CIPD), explained, “Sixty percent of petrol pumps are functional in Maharashtra. The supply is being managed solely by dealer’s tankers due to a complete shutdown of transporters and tankers, beyond our control. In Mumbai, the supply of petrol was impacted from the Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) depot in Wadala.”
Discussion about this post