Punjab: Truck operators call off agitation

Truckers in Punjab today called off their month-long protest against the disbanding of truck unions after an assurance from the state government that their interests would not be hurt by its move.
"We have decided to call off our ongoing protest against the state government's decision to disband 134 truck unions," All Punjab Truck Operators Union chief Happy Sandhu said here.
The union claimed that small truck operators would suffer the most because of the abolition of truck unions as big companies would take over the business, posing a serious threat to the former's survival in the business.
Sandhu said Punjab Markfed Chairman Amarjit Singh Samra today arranged a meeting of truck operators with Suresh Kumar, the chief principal secretary to Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

"Suresh Kumar ji assured us that our interests will be taken care of. No truck operator will face any financial loss and minimum and maximum freight will also be decided by the state government," he said.
"We will now restart transportation of foodgrains," he added.

The Punjab government had approved the Punjab Goods Carriages (regulation and prevention of cartelisation rules), which barred goods carriage operators from forming cartels or unions in the state.
During their agitation, the truckers had blocked traffic on some roads, held rallies and even burnt a few vehicles in the past one month.
The union had even filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the state government's move of disbanding truck unions in the state.