Transport operators withdraw strike following Supreme Court stay

Bangalore, Feb 26 (UNI) The four-day old strike by transport operators was today called off following the Supreme Court staying the Karnataka High Court order upholding the mandatory installation of speed governors in all transport vehicles in the State.

The operators had gone on an indefinite strike after the Karnataka High Court upheld the State Transport Department order to this effect and set June 30 as deadline.

Federation of Karnataka Lorry owners and agents associations general secretary Narayanappa told UNI that the federation had told their members that they could operate their vehicles with immediate effect as their plea for a stay had been upheld by the apex court.

''We are not against the order of the High Court. But we are only protesting against the unscientific notification of the Karnataka Transport Department which had made the fixing of speed governors mandatory, not bothering to think how it could be implemented,'' he said.

He accused the department of being driven by vested interests of those who manufactured the speed governors and which were priced very high. ''These gadgets are available for Rs 2500 in Delhi but here they are priced at Rs 16,000. Moreover it cannot be implemented only in Karnataka. We demand a uniform policy,'' he said.

Over seven lakh vehicles had gone off the roads since February 23 protesting against the order leading to an upward surge in essential commodities.

Transport associations in south India had extended their support to the Federation leading to stranding of thousands of vehicles on various state border points in Karnataka.

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