Trasporters' strike in Guj; more than 3 lac trucks are off the roads

Ahmedabad, June 13 (UNI) About 5500 transport operators in Gujarat today joined the nation-wide strike called by the All India Motor Transport Congress in protest against the recent hike in petrol and diesel prices.

Long queues of trucks were seen, stationed at different places along the National Highway no 8, which connects Delhi to Mumbai and Kandla port.

''The hike in fuel rates are abnormally high and this has pushed up our operational costs. The Centre must roll back the prices,'' Ahmedabad Truckers' Association president Om Hari Sharma said.

He said a total of 3,05,000 trucks will be off the roads in Gujarat, including 35,000 in Ahmedabad.

''We are not staging any dharna here, but a trucks' rally will be held in Delhi,'' he told UNI.

He said a memorandum will be submitted to the Chief Minister demanding a cut in the sales tax, which is pegged at 26 per cent for transport fuel.

The transporters have already hiked the transportation charges as a fallout of the fuel rate increase.

The strike, which began at 0900 hrs, will be on till midnight.

''The truck drivers had been instructed not to move and hence they have parked themselves near motels, fuel stations along the highway,'' former Association president Nimish Patel said.

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