Bus and truck drivers protest New Law that increases Jail term for road accidents

Bus drivers are on strike in Madhya Pradesh. The  buses have stopped in most of the districts. Buses are not running from the bus stands of other cities including Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur. About nine hundred buses are closed in Indore alone.

Passengers are facing problems. When people came to fill petrol and diesel in their personal vehicles, there was a huge crowd at the pumps. Police had to take charge to control the crowd in Balaghat.

Drivers are protesting against the new law in hit and run cases, which has a provision of 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 7 lakh.

Blockades have also been made at many places. Apart from this, truck drivers have also parked their trucks since 2 o’clock in the night. The strike was not carried out by the transporters but only by the drivers. Chartered and other drivers are not included in this yet.

Bus drivers blocked the road in Narmadapuram. An ambulance also got stuck in it.

Drivers are on strike across the state. In Dhar – There is a traffic jam on the Mumbai-Agra highway. Due to this, people sitting in vehicles are facing problems. An ambulance also got stuck in the jam.

In Khandwa Drivers have created a traffic jam. Travelers are facing problems due to lack of means of transportation.

Bus-truck drivers have blocked National Highway-39 Panna-Chhatarpur road. Passengers are wandering here and there. Dozens of buses are parked at Ganjbasoda bus stand. There is a crowd of passengers.

Buses are standing at the Dewas bus stand. There was a jam on the Indore-Dewas road due to trucks being parked on the National Highway. Due to this, other drivers are facing problems.

Bus-truck drivers blocked the overbridge intersection in  Narmadapuram. Police reached the spot and got the jam cleared.

In Pithampura truck drivers parked their trucks on the Mumbai-Agra National Highway and created a jam. Mhow-Neemuch road was also blocked.

There was a huge crowd at the petrol pump in Balaghat. police had to take over

There was a huge crowd at the petrol pump in Balaghat. police had to take over

Vegetable supply will be affected

The truck strike will affect the supply in Karond vegetable market of Bhopal. Naseem Khan, President of Vegetable Market Traders Association, said that vegetables arrived regularly in the market on Monday morning. Right now vegetables are coming from the markets of the state only. If the truck strike continues, the supply may be affected on Tuesday. Let us tell you that vegetables reach 80% of Bhopal from Karond Mandi.

Dinesh Patel, in-charge of Indore’s Sarwate bus stand, said that more than 425 buses from Sarwate, 250 from Gangwal bus stand and more than 200 buses operating from three Imli did not operate today. Roads were closed by placing barricades at Gangwal bus stand intersection. There was jam at many intersections. School buses also got stuck in the jam. There is also information about an army vehicle getting stuck on the Mhow road. Chartered buses are also closed. Updowners of Pithampur, Ujjain, Saver and Mhow were also troubled due to the closure of buses. Long queues formed at petrol pumps. Many school-college buses also remained closed in Indore. This troubled parents and children.

AICTSL operates 400 buses in Indore and 150 outside. AICTSL PRO Malasingh Thakur said that all the buses are on strike. The drivers are in the depot only. If the strike stops, we will start running buses.

Due to the strike, passengers traveling daily from Dewas, Ujjain, Mhow and surrounding cities have been in trouble.

Indore bus operator Purushottam Ojha says that the driver does not drive wrongly, hence he has got the license from RTO. Now, if a cattle suddenly comes while driving, then avoid picking it up and taking it away. If there is a provision for punishment in the license then we will stop driving.

Driver Manmohan Sharma told that if someone accidentally entered our car and died then how is the driver responsible. From where will he give Rs 10 lakh and why will he face 7 years of imprisonment. It is better not to drive.

Truck driver Mor Singh in Bhopal said, ‘We have stopped the truck in protest against the new law.All drivers are doing the same. Anyway, we earn Rs 10-12 thousand a month. If the law is not withdrawn then now they will do some other work because they have to feed their children

Due to the strike by truck-tankers, fuel shortage has started at petrol pumps. As soon as people came to know about this, they started reaching petrol pumps. In such a situation, queues of vehicles formed.

CL Mukati, Chairman of All Motor Transport Congress, New Delhi said that we have also written a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. It is written in this that reconsideration should be done to withdraw the law. If the government refuses to withdraw the law, we will all together protest.

All India Motor Transport Congress President Amritlal Madan said, ‘We are going to hold a meeting of transporters across the country on January 2. Further decisions will be taken in this. After the introduction of this rule, heavy vehicle drivers are leaving their jobs.

Madan said that in the Indian Judicial Code 2023, there is a provision of 10 years’ imprisonment for the drivers guilty of accidents, which is putting our transport industry in danger. He said, “There is a need to take strict steps in the cases of hit and run and the government’s intention behind this is also good, but the proposed law has many flaws. There is a need to think again on it.

More than 6 lakh buses and trucks operate in Madhya Pradesh.More than 13 lakh people get employment. This includes drivers and cleaners, among others.

This number is more than 60 thousand in Bhopal and Indore.