Indefinite strike called by Indian truckers begins Wednesday, to hit economic growth
The Indian highways wore a deserted look on Wednesday as about 5 million truckers stayed off the road to protest against high taxes and rising oil costs.
Road transporters have called an indefinite strike on Wednesday after talks between the truckers and the T.R. Baalu, Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, failed.
"No meeting is planned with the government and we are going ahead with the strike to save our business," said Charan Singh Lohara, president of the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), which represents about 4.8 million trucks, both large and small.
The strike is expected to cripple India's economy and slow down industrial output and hurt diesel sales.
According to Lohara, the strike has been called to protest against the duplicity of oil firms which are forcing them to buy branded fuel at higher prices.
"Earlier the price gap (between branded and normal diesel) was 50 paise (1.2 cents) a liter, but now this has gone up to as much as Rs.2.25 (5.1 cents) a liter. To save our business, we are taking our vehicles off the roads," Lohara said.
"We are already running under huge losses. The cost of diesel is so high that we have nothing left to live on. The government must reduce the multiple taxes to compensate for the increasing cost of fuel," he said.
Of the 5 million trucks which would stay off the road, majority are long haul cargo carriers which consume between 70-80 liters of diesel per day.
The oil firms, however, deny that they are forcing truckers to buy costlier fuel.
According to G.C. Daga, director of marketing at Indian Oil Corp. (IOC), India's largest fuel retailer, truckers are not being prevented from buying normal fuel.
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