Truck owners threaten strike over high diesel prices

Hyderabad: Telangana Lorry Owners’ Association (TLOA) has threatened to launch a state-wide strike demanding, among other things, reduction in high prices of diesel.

Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, TLOA joint secretary Koyyeda Sudhakar Goud said they have been facing immense difficulties ever since the new state has been formed owing to high taxes. Now, the prices of diesel have gone up steeply, making it difficult to earn their livelihood.

Sudhakar Goud and other association leaders including Abdul Bari said the transport sector contributes Rs 40,000 crore each year by way of different taxes. They maintained that many of the taxes are unreasonable. Premium for third party insurance has increased by 400 per cent, which must be lowered. Spare parts of lorries are taxed at 28 per cent. These must be brought to 18 per cent.

Interstate permits cost Rs 1,700 per trip. The permit fee must be waived. Lorries must be exempt from paying toll, whether on state or national highways. Quarterly tax used to be Rs v6,200 for a 10-tyre lorry in the combined state, when the distance travelled had been more. Now, intra-state distance has reduced. Hence, quarterly tax must be reduced.

The TLOA leaders said the biggest problem has turned out to be high rates of diesel. These must be reduced, apart from bringing diesel under GST. Further, they said the state government pays them Rs 193 per tonne of paddy transported for civil supplies department. This is the price fixed when diesel cost Rs 72 per litre. But now, diesel rates have shot up. The paddy transport charges must now be increased to Rs 300 per tonne, they demanded.

Sudhakar Goud and Abdul Bari said despite their two earlier strikes, state government has not responded to their pleas since past seven years. “If the government does not respond this time, we may have to once again go on lorry bandh,” they warned.