Truckers call off strike as govtagrees to consider demands

Bengaluru: Truckers in Karnataka called off their indefinite strike Thursday. The move came after a delegation of the Federation of Karnataka State Lorry Owners and Agents Association held a meeting with transport minister Ramalinga Reddy and officials of the department.
Federation president GR Shanmugappa told media persons that the strike, which began Tuesday, was called off with immediate effect, as the state govt agreed to address the grievances of the lorry owners.
The federation is demanding a rollback of diesel price increase, removal of border checkposts and discontinuation of toll collection on state highways.
Shanmugappa said that to compensate for the financial burden caused by the diesel price hike, the govt was urged to fix rental charges for commercial goods vehicles, similar to the system in place for taxis, autorickshaws and buses. He said a positive response was received on the matter.

He stated that the federation also received encouraging feedback from the govt on resolving issues related to availing fitness certificates for vehicles and relaxing restrictions on commercial vehicles’ entry into Bengaluru city.
Reddy said, “The federation has put forward six demands, which include the removal of border checkposts. They pointed out that other states have already removed them, while Karnataka still retains them. Officials will study this matter and submit a report.”
“Another demand is to relax the restrictions on the entry of commercial vehicles into Bengaluru city limits. We will take this up with the city police commissioner and other authorities concerned. Instructions have already been given to complete the fitness certification process for commercial vehicles between 7am and 8am daily to avoid inconvenience to owners,” he added.
The minister also said there are demands to take action against tractors operating illegally in the city limits. Action will be taken against those who register tractors for agricultural purposes but use them for commercial activities such as transporting debris. During the meeting, the minister also instructed the transport officials to implement an online system for the payment of penalties applicable to commercial vehicles, eliminating the need for personal visits to RTO offices.
On the demand to reduce the penalty amount by 50%, the minister said the issue would be discussed at the govt level involving the finance department and the chief minister. “In many cases, penalty amounts have been pending for up to 10 years. In the past, the police department reduced penalty amounts, and similar consideration is being sought from the transport department. This will need to be discussed with the chief minister, who also holds the finance portfolio,” he said.