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Essential supplies face disruption as Covid-19 cripples road transport

The possibility of harassment by cops and fear of the unknown have forced a large number of truck drivers to abandon vehicles at the transport centres and flee home.

trucks, road, transport, highways, accidents

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Almost 2.5 million trucks among the 5 million are off road, according to the Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT).

Shally Seth Mohile Mumbai

3 min read Last Updated : Apr 01 2020 | 12:11 AM IST

Mahendra Choudhary, owner of a supermarket in Navi Mumbai, has been facing acute shortage of staples like flour, rice, pulses, lentils and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) products, including soap, oil and shampoo. This is mainly owing to a surge in demand from donors of such items.

“On Monday, there was demand from someone for 50 packets of flour along with some other consumer goods. I had run out of stock,” said Choudhary. The problem facing Choudhary has its roots in shuttered factories, distribution centres and a restricted number of trucks on the road.

The possibility of harassment by cops and fear

Topics : Coronavirus transport sector Road Transport agricultural sector Vegetables

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