Millions of India truckers strike over fuel, taxes
Pastor Dale Morgan
Millions of India truckers strike over fuel, taxes*
MUMBAI, INDIA Jul 02 2008 14:25
Millions of Indian truckers went on strike on Wednesday to protest
against high taxes and rising fuel bills, union leaders said, adding
that a meeting with the Transport Ministry had failed to resolve the
dispute.
Trucks provide the transport lifeline of India's economy and a lengthy
strike would threaten not only goods supplies, but also industrial
output. Diesel sales could drop sharply.
"About 4,5-million trucks are off the road as part of our indefinite
strike. Transportation of all goods, including essential items, has been
stopped," said SK Sharma, an adviser to the All India Motor Transport
Congress.
"We have to wait and watch for the government's response."
TR Baalu, India's Transport Minister, released a statement asking the
transporter associations to end their strike, saying the ministry was
trying to sort out their problems.
In the southern city of Chennai, about 1 000 protesters waved placards
in a noisy rally, while vegetable vendors said people had already began
panic-buying potatoes and other groceries.
Any prolonged action will add to the woes of India's coalition
government, which is already battling inflation soaring at a 13-year
high. Also, its communist allies are threatening to withdraw support
over a nuclear deal with the United States, raising the prospect of a
snap election.
Charan Singh Lohara, president of the truckers' congress, which
represents both large and small operations, and other representatives
met Transport Ministry officials on Wednesday.
The ministry said in its statement that it had explained in the meeting
the reasoning behind some of the rate hikes, and was trying to solve
some of the other problems raised.
Lohara said he was unhappy with the minister's response, and that the
strike would continue "until the government solves our problems".
A similar week-long strike in August 2004 pulled monthly diesel sales
down 9,3% from a year earlier and hurt annual growth in industrial
output because of disrupted shipments.
Lohara said earlier most of the four million trucks he expected to stay
off the roads were long-distance cargo carriers, consuming between 75
and 80 litres of diesel a day. -- Reuters