The truckers body also claimed that while the home ministry has issued directives that trucks carrying goods, essential or non-essential or empty vehicle should not be stopped but on the ground local authorities are not honouring it in many places and stated if such a scenario persists then the scarcity of essential supplies is inevitable.
Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to extend the lockdown till May 3, AIMTC Chairman Core Committee and former president Bal Malkit Singh said,"...there is renewed concern among the transport sector regarding its sustenance".
While the prime minister has asked corporate and public sector enterprises to cooperate in this hour of crisis by taking care of the workforce and their dependent, Singh claimed, "it has come to light that even public sector enterprise like Maharashtra Natural Gas Limited, a joint venture of Maharashtra Government and GAIL, are rescinding their work contract and rendering hundreds of poor truckers without work." "The corporates and PSEs should honour their existing work contracts as on it depends livelihood of many others," he said.
Highlighting issues faced by truckers on the road, Singh said drivers need to be motivated to come-back to work and Rs 50 lakh insurance should be immediately announced for them by the government apart from recognition of their efforts and contribution to the country.
Drivers who are behind the wheels on date carrying essential or non-essential supplies or empty vehicles must be assured to reach their destination without any hassle, he said, adding the home ministry directives to not stop trucks are not being followed at several places.
"It must be ensured that the directives issued by the MHA should reach the ground level at every police station, district, taluk level so that their no roadblocks in the movement of trucks carrying any type of loads, and it should be facilitated instead," Singh said.
There is also acute shortage of labour, staff, loading and unloading staff, but due to lack of transportation services they are not able to reach their stations, he added.
Singh further said, "The government is spending Rs 2 lakh crore to fight coronavirus. Let Rs 200 crore be spent to ensure food and water for drivers and helpers on the move." He said the government must use its reach and resources at the district level to set up a place every 200 km to bring stranded trucks on the roads due to disruption of supply chain, where they can be sanitised and then allowed to move on.
