January 5, 2009

New Delhi -- The All-India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) has decided to go ahead with its indefinite strike from midnight of January 5, after its third round of talks with the Central government failed to break the ice on Sunday.

The AIMTC said that about 1 crore trucks across the country would stop plying.

The AIMTC has been demanding a reduction in diesel prices by Rs.10 a litre and tyre prices by 35 per cent, withdrawal of service tax on truckers, moratorium on all instalments and deferring interest on loans for six months. It also wants free movement of trucks across the country.

Truck operators had deferred strike planned on December 20 in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks.

The transporters' lobby charged the government with favouring the aviation sector, by providing it fuel at a heavily subsidised Rs. 29 a litre on credit for 90 days.

On the other hand, prices of petroleum products had fallen from $147 to $38 in the international market and the reduction in diesel price was a mere Rs. 2 a litre.

The AIMTC has accused the Commerce Ministry of protecting the cartel of tyre companies and helping them fleece the truckers by imposing anti-dumping duty on quality radials from China.

They said tyre companies hiked prices of a pair of tyres from Rs.17,000 to Rs.27,000 when prices of rubber had fallen in international market from Rs.160 to Rs.60 a kg.