According to transporters, starting at midnight on Tuesday, thousands of trucks and other goods-carrying vehicles in Mumbai and other Maharashtra regions would embark on indefinite strike in protest of the e-challan system for traffic infractions and other demands.
However, bus operators, including those who transport schoolchildren, declared they would delay their involvement in the strike at the request of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who claimed that the warkaris (followers of Lord Vitthal) would experience inconvenience because Ashadi Ekadashi was quickly approaching. A 10-member committee headed by Transport Commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar was established by the state government to investigate the transporters’ strike.
The Vahatukdar Bachao Kruti Sanghatana, an action committee of the transporters’ associations in the state, said the indefinite strike will begin from midnight as the transporters are frustrated with the e-challans and harassment by the enforcement agencies for recovery of e-challans.
The transportation of essential items, including milk, vegetables, and medicines, has been kept out of the strike’s purview. The All-India Motor Transport Congress, the apex body of transporters in the country, has supported the strike along with the Maharashtra Rajya Truck Tempo Tanker Bus Vahatuk Mahasangh, the All-India Bulk LPG Transporter Association, and the Navi Mumbai Transport Association, along with many other transport bodies.
