Around 23,000 lorries remained off the road in Madhya Pradesh hitting supply today -- the first day of the two-day truckers' strike against high diesel price among other issues.
"Around 23,000 trucks out of total 25,000 in Madhya Pradesh were not driven today. Only 2,000 are ferrying essential commodities to ensure that common man is not at the receiving end during the festive season," MP Motor Transport Association president Parvinder Singh Bhatia told PTI.
He said the truckers' two-day strike called by All India Motor Transport Congress is expected to inflict a loss of Rs 400 crore to their sector.
Bhatia said that diesel should be brought in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) purview as the transporters have been facing problems due to its varied prices in different states.
"MP government was realising heavy Value Added Tax (VAT) and other levies on diesel and the fuel was quite costlier in the state than in other states. This causes financial hardships to us," he added.
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