Telangana, Andhra truckers' strike hits goods movement

Hyderabad/Vijayawada, March 31 : With transporters and truckers continuing their indefinite strike for the second day on Friday, movement of goods across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh remained quite affected.

More than five lakh trucks in both the Telugu-speaking states remained off the road for the second consecutive day.

Officials in the transport department said there was no impact on the movement of essential commodities as the truckers have exempted these from their strike.

The lorry owners' associations also have exempted essential services like transport of vegetables, milk and petrol from the strike.

The movement of coal, cement, steel and other goods, however, came to a standstill and the railway freight operations, too, were affected.

Telangana Chief Secretary S.P. Singh directed the district collectors to make alternate arrangements for supply of essential commodities through buses of the state-owned Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC).

The transport commissioners in both states asked collectors to ensure uninterrupted supply of petrol, diesel and other essential commodities.

The truckers were pressing for 14 demands, which include withdrawal of the central government order on increased third-party insurance, hike in challan fees and penal amounts.

The Telangana and Andhra Pradesh transporters are also demanding single permit system for both states.

Following bifurcation of the undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2014, the two states stopped issuing single permits. Truck operators said this was causing them huge losses.