Movement of vehicles on the busy Chennai-Kolkata national highway will be affected from Tuesday midnight with the proposed combined strike of various associations representing owners of lorries, tankers and petrol pumps opposing the imposition of Value Added Tax (VAX) on all petroleum products.
Representatives of AP Lorry Owners Association urged their counterparts in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Chattisgarh and Odisha not to operate the vehicles during the strike period. The vehicles plying on Chennai - Kolkata route will be stopped at Andhra-Odisha border from Monday night as part of the agitation, according to AP Lorry Owners Assocation's leader M. Janaki Rami Reddy and Itchapuram JAC convener Piriya Sairaj.
They said that the truckers were also opposing the heavy penalties and arrests of drivers under the new rules and regulations of the Union Government.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr.Sairaj said that many petrol bunks were closed in Sompeta, Itchapuram, Patapatnam and Kotturu as motorists preferred to buy petrol and diesel in nearby bunks in Odisha across the border.
"The variation of price for petrol per litre is almost Rs.9 and it is around Rs.6 with regard to diesel. The AP Government should immediately revoke the VAT imposed in February, 2015," he said. The AP Federation of Petroleum Traders said that they had been facing harassment from Fire Safety Department and other wings of the Government despite implementation of safety measures at the petrol bunks.
Meanwhile, thre is a mad rush at the petrol pumps as vehicle owners feared that fuel would not be available if strike continued for more than a couple of days.
