The participants at a roundtable, demanded withdrawal of G.O. no. 21, brought out by the State government, which will result in a hefty hike in the fee for services by the AP Transport Department and hefty penalties for violation of the Motor Vehicle (MV) Act. The meet was organised under the auspices of the CITU at the Public Library here on Monday. The speakers said that the Union government had brought out the 894 notification, hiking the challan rates for driving licence, vehicle registration, issue of Fitness Certificate (FC), transfer of ownership, finance endorsement and third party insurance, and toll gate charges.
Driving a two-wheeler without helmet and pillion riding without a helmet would also result in imposition of hefty penalties. The participants noted that the transport sector was in a crisis during the last eight months due to the pandemic. They ridiculed the Central and the State governments for the hefty hike in fee and penalties as a ‘Dasara gift’ to transport operators, drivers and motorists. They called upon all motorists to participate in the all India strike on November 26, being organised to oppose the ‘anti-worker’ and ‘anti-people’ policies of the Centre. Describing the transport sector as the backbone of the economy, they said that attempts were being made by the governments to cripple the sector, instead of going to its rescue at a time when it was in a crisis. The meeting decided to withdraw all vehicles from the roads on November 26 and take out a rally from the DRM’s Office Junction at Dondaparthy.
CITU city president R.K.S.V. Kumar, AP Auto Workers Federation (AITUC) district president G. Vamana Murthy, AIRTWF district honorary president B. Jagan, Lorry Operators Welfare Association vice president Chandra Naidu, Quarry Lorry Union president Ramana, APSRTC Hire Bus Owners Association leaders Tirupathi Rao and P. Appa Rao were among those who attended.
