Next month is going to bring plenty of worries for Bengalureans as commercial vehicles transporting fruits, vegetables, fish and other daily commodities will go off the roads. The All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) has called for an indefinite strike from June 1 to protest the compulsory installation of speed governors in old vehicles.
There are over 8.50 lakh maxi cabs and tourist vehicles in the State and about 2.5 lakh commercial vehicles like trucks etc. The Supreme Court has directed that all commercial/ yellow board vehicles in the State of Karnataka must be fitted with speed governors. The rule also holds for vehicles from other States that enter Karnataka or pass though it. Speed governors are a safety measure since they compel drivers to adhere to slower speeds. For transporters, though, time is money and hence the opposition to the court directive.
“We held a meeting with various related associations and have give notice to the State Government 21 days before starting the strike. We are not going to call back the strike for false assurances made by authorities. Our argument is that the rule should be implemented throughout India. The government is compelling other States’ vehicles not to enter Karnataka. For the last two years we have been fighting against the implementation of the speed governor rule only in Karnataka. It is the responsibility of the government to make sure that the rule is not implemented,” said AIMTC president, G.R. Shanmugappa.
The strike has also been called against imposing of life time taxes on taxis. “The taxi operators are enrolled under self employment scheme of the State Government. Since the government in the present year’s budget has made it compulsory for maxi cabs to pay life time taxes, the fraternity will face losses. For example, life time tax on an Innova car is Rs 1.5 lakh which is a huge amount for a taxi operator to pay. We are protesting against imposing of life time taxes too,” added Mr Shanmugappa.