Truck, cab and other transport vehicle operators on Tuesday staged a demonstration at the Garikapadu checkpost near Jaggaiahpeta on Tuesday demanding that the Telangana government withdraw the additional motor vehicle tax imposed on transport vehicles from Andhra Pradesh.
Raising slogans and holding banners, transport vehicle operators gathered at the checkpost in the afternoon, bringing traffic on the highway to a standstill for more than an hour.
Cab operators now have to pay nearly Rs. 17,000 for obtaining weekly permit to conduct service in Telangana. Left with no choice, they have increased fares, but not many are willing to pay the revised fares, and operators are eventually forced to suspend services. Similar is the plight of private bus and truck operators, while it is the common man who bears the brunt, said Y.V. Eswara Rao, general secretary of A.P. Lorry Owners’ Association.
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“The transport industry was already reeling under huge losses, and in the larger interest of people of both States, the governments should resolve the issue amicably by issuing countersign permits. Though vehicle owners will have to cough up an additional Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 5,000, it could go a long way in addressing the operators problems,” he suggested.
A controversy broke out when the Telangana government began to impose Motor Vehicle Tax from March 31 midnight on vehicles from A.P. Some transport operators approached the High Court and got relief when the Court asked the TS government to accept an indemnity bond furnished by the petitioners.
Later, the High Court issued an interim order directing all transport operators entering Telangana to pay Motor Vehicle Tax as demanded by the Transport Department of that State.
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