Truckers body calls 3-day strike in Madhya Pradesh from August 10

A transporters organisation has given a call for three-day strike in Madhya Pradesh from Monday in support of their demand for exemption from the road tax and GST during April-September besides a cut in the value-added tax (VAT) on diesel.

The All India Motor Transport Congress said that the Covid-19 outbreak has adversely affected the transport business. It has called the strike in the state from Monday to Wednesday. "Around seven lakh vehicles including trucks and small commercial vehicles will participate in this three-day lockdown," Vijay Kalra, vice-president (Western region) of the organisation, claimed on Sunday. Kalra said that due to lack of business amid Covid-19 outbreak, the state transporters are facing financial troubles and diesel prices have gone up significantly.

"In these circumstances, we demanded that VAT on diesel be reduced, transporters should be exempted from road tax and GST during the two quarters of this financial year (April-June and July-September) and truck drivers should be covered under insurance for Covid-19 by the state government. Kalra also demanded that the check posts of the Transport Department should be shut immediately, alleging rampant corruption on such posts at the borders of the state.