ANCHOR: Truckers in India are fed up with higher taxes and rising fuel bills, as oil firms force them to buy costlier branded fuel. To protest their discontent, trucker's unions call for a nationwide strike. Let's take a closer look...
STORY: On July 2, millions of truckers have gone on strike across India, protesting the rise in taxes and fuel costs.
India caps the prices of normal gas and diesel sold through gas stations, but no such price control exists for branded fuels. Thus, oil firms have been forcing commercial vehicles to meet half of their fuel consumption through costlier branded diesel, for the last ten days.
In India's northern Chandigarh, trucks are parked and drivers can be seen sleeping under their vehicles.
Truckers are already reeling from various state taxes and the recent fuel hike has only added to their woes.
[Bhupinder Singh, Transport Company Owner]:
"There is service tax, toll tax, diesel costs -- we are not able to save anything. On top of that, there is road tax. And the sky rocketing fuel prices are just adding to our woes. We want these demands to be
addressed."
The situation was similar in northern Varanasi, where truck drivers are annoyed that some drivers are not observing the shutdown.
[Uma Shankar, Truck Driver]:
"We want no truck to run. Only then will we be able to press for our demands. Otherwise, if half of us strike and the others don't, no one will listen to us."
Trucks provide the transport lifeline of India's economy and a lengthy strike would threaten not only goods supplies, but also industrial output. A similar week-long strike in August 2004 had devastating effects on the Indian economy.
Tags: ntd trucker india high taxes oil price fuel protest strike
