The strike call given by the Federation of Karnataka State Lorry owners and Agents Association over fixing speed governors to lorries and trucks before April 1, 2016, has been postponed.
The decision follows talks between Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy and the members of the association on Monday in Bengaluru.
Reddy said the State government needed time to consult legal authorities over the extension of time to fit speed governors. The minister has taken time till Wednesday to discuss the implications of the April 1 deadline.
The Federation members on Monday said they were supposed to launch the strike from December 1, but decided to put it off after talks with the minister. The Central government had recently passed an order providing time till April 1, 2016, for owners to fit speed governors to their lorries without fail.
The Federation immediately responded by organising a protest in front of the Transport Commissioner’s office over two days last week.
After a meeting with the transport minister, a consensus was arrived at that lorry drivers would not go on strike till the transport ministry got legal clarifications from its lawyers and the Central government on the April 1 deadline.
‘Will wait for 2 days’
Federation president G R Shanmugappa said, “The minister has promised to address the problem. We will wait for two more days. If the government fails to take a firm decision, then we will have to protest.”
He said the Federation was against fitting speed governors to old lorries.
The decision would have to be withdrawn by the Centre as the problems associated with fitting speed governors has been explained.
“The mileage will reduce if speed governors are fitted to lorries. Old vehicles cannot cross the speed limit of 80 km per hour and hence there is no need for speed governors for them. There are several instances of lorry engines malfunctioning because of speed governors,” he said.
Choice of company
The Federation is also opposed to the government’s direction for vehicle owners to fit speed governors manufactured by a particular company.
Minister Reddy said the department had selected two companies through bidding as prescribed by the Centre.
However, Shanmugappa argued that while a speed governor cost Rs 2,250 in Delhi, the companies selected by the State government sold a unit for not less than Rs 15,000. More and more companies should be allowed to compete in the market so that the prices of speed governors are reduced, he said.
Reddy said speed governors would be fitted to all old buses of the KSRTC and the BMTC.
The process has already begun, the Transport minister further added.