Truckers demand relief package from govt as lockdown leaves them in limbo

With livelihood of about 1 crore truckers in peril due to the lockdown, transporters on Friday urged the government for an immediate relief package for the transport sector.

The outbreak of coronavirus pandemic and the resultant lockdown to contain its spread have led to idling of more than 90 per cent of about one crore truckers.

More than 4 lakh truckers with goods under non-essential categories are still stranded across India while goods worth about Rs 40,000 crore are lying in vehicles in the absence of unloading mechanism as well as reluctance on part of godowns, owners and others, All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC)President Kultaran Singh Atwal told PTI.

Atwal said the situation is so grim that AIMTC has written to the government, seeking immediate rescue and relief package as the transport sector has already gone on "ventilator" and as much as 20 crore people are directly or indirectly dependent on it for livelihood.

AIMTC is the apex body of transporters representing about 93 lakh truckers besides various transport entities,
In a few such recordings with PTI, truckers are heard pleading for help saying they have been left with nothing to eat. One driver from Himachal Pradesh is heard saying "I will die of cold and hunger."
The road transport sector of India is one of the critical sectors of the economy and highly unorganized and marginalized, the Paper said adding "it is supposedly the 'backbone of the economy' and the 'lifeline ... providing essential services to the common man'- 365 X 24 X 7. It is highest employment generator."
The paper said the health of the sector, which is pinned as the barometer of economy, has in fact "deteriorated amid lockdown and in essence it is on ventilator and is in dire need of oxygen to survive. All the transport segments, both cargo and passenger, are under Acute Financial Stress due to the Corona virus crisis."