Centre announces panel to look into issues:Truckers’ body calls off strike

NEW DELHI: Truckers affiliated to All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) called off their strike late Monday evening following a marathon meeting with road transport minister Nitin Gadkari and his top ministry officials.

“I’ve formed a committee under secretary RTH (read road transport and highways) along with transporters representatives to look into their issues & submit a report by 15 December,” Gadkari tweeted announcing that the strike was over.

Sources said the committee will also have some experts to look into all the issues that are being raised by the truckers. The truckers had demanded the scrapping of present toll collection system, which AIMTC says is a tool of harassment for truckers, besides seeking a one-time payment of taxes and simplification of the TDS procedure.

Earlier in the day, Gadkari had said he would take up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Rajnath Singh issues raised by the truckers, especially complaints of harassment at state border crossings.

“It was clear from day one that two demands on toll and TDS were illogical and irrational. The strike was fizzling out all over the country. Left with no option, the transporters body wanted a face saver. They are always opposed to the implementation of Carriage by Road Rules, which aims at bringing much needed transparency and accountability in the trucking industry,” said S P Singh of IFTRT, a think tank on transport issues.

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Source:Timesofindia

Truckers strike