Truck owners threaten strike over Gandhi Setu movement ban

Truck owners of Bihar today strongly protested the state government's ban on movement of trucks of 10-12 tyres on Gandhi Setu over the Ganga and threatened to stop paying taxes and observe a bandh.
"Instead of checking overloading of trucks, the state government has stopped movement of trucks with 10-12 tyres on Gandhi Setu linking north Bihar, which has ruined the business of truck owners," Bhanu Shekhar Prasad Singh, president of Bihar Truck Owner's Association said in a statement here.
He said the Association disagrees with a statement of the Road Construction Department minister Rajiv Ranjan Lallan that movement of big trucks have been prohibited on the Gandhi Setu, Rajendra Bridge at Hatidah and other places to protect those bridges from damage.

"The fact is the state government has failed to check overloading," Singh said urging Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and his predecessor Nitish Kumar to look into the matter.
If the ban order was not revoked immediately, the truck owners would surrender their papers to the District Transport Officer (DTO) and stop paying tax, Singh said adding, a meeting has been called at Bihta in Patna district on July 6 to chalk out protest programmes.