Truck strike on 5th day: Traders apprehend price rise

As the indefinite strike in the country called by the All India Motor Transport Congress entered the fifth day on Tuesday, traders in Odisha apprehended that if the strike continues for a few more days the prices of essential commodities would spiral due to their shortages.

Vegetable traders in Chhatra Bazaar in Cuttack said that while usually 30 to 35 trucks used to arrive in the market daily, after the strike four to five trucks are coming with goods. If this continues, they can sustain only for a few days but after that, there would be shortages of vegetables.

Notably, more than 2 lakh trucks in Odisha are off the roads supporting the countrywide strike. Thousands of trucks are stationed in the parking lots affecting livelihood of hundreds of workers dependant on the transport business. But medicines and milk have been exempted from the ambit of the strike.

The truckers are demanding that the Government bring diesel under the GST regime, waive toll tax and raise the third party insurance premiums.