With their main demands still unmet by the government, the striking truck owners are all set to intensify the stir that may have a serious impact on several sectors, including students writing CBSE exams.
Lorry owners on Tuesday stopped nearly 500 oil tankers on their way to city at Kondapalli. The move set off rumours that many petrol bunks in the city had closed down for want of fuel.
But calls made to a couple of petrol bunk owners confirmed that there was no such development. They said they were part of the strike and if the demands of the truck owners were not met by Thursday, when a fresh round of talks were scheduled, the situation might really turn serious.
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“If the Government doesn’t yield, there will be fuel crisis,” said Narayana Prasad, owner of a petrol bunk in Autonagar.
Reports of owners of oil tankers extending their support to the cause of the truckers triggered worry among the district officials.
Talks between the representatives of the South Zone Motor Transporters’ Welfare Association and officials of the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA) chairman T.S. Vijayan in Hyderabad on Monday failed with the truckers refusing the former’s plea to temporarily halt the strike and give time to the government to look into the issue of the Third Party Premium insurance.
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The truckers were demanding roll back of the 50% hike in the TPP.
Andhra Pradesh Transport Commissioner N. Bala Subramaniyam also held talks with the members of the AP Lorry Owners’ Association on Tuesday which apparently did not yield the desired result.