Assam faced a transportation standstill as commercial and public vehicles stayed off the roads, adhering to the commencement of a 48-hour transport strike. This left office-goers struggling to reach their workplaces, with buses, taxis, and app cabs remaining non-operational during the strike.
Ramen Das, the convenor of Assam Motor Worker Associations’ Joint Platform, expressed discontent, stating, “The government only wants to blame drivers for any unfortunate incident even if they may not have committed the crime. Instead of improving road conditions, they are penalising the poor drivers.” Das further highlighted their demand for the withdrawal of the legislation pertaining to hit-and-run cases, calling the new law “anti-drivers.”
“The new law on hit-and-run cases is anti-drivers and is against owners of vehicles. We call for a strike of all vehicles from 5 am on Friday to 5 am on Sunday to press for our demand for withdrawal of the legislation,” Das said. Despite talks with state government officials on Thursday night, no resolution was achieved.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), set to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), imposes stringent penalties for drivers causing serious road accidents due to negligent driving. Under the new law, they can face up to 10 years in prison or a fine of ₹7 lakh, a significant increase from the two-year punishment specified in the British-era IPC.
The transporters’ platform has urged private car owners to join the strike, emphasizing that the law applies to everyone, regardless of whether one is driving a commercial vehicle or a small car. Long queues were witnessed at petrol pumps across the state as people rushed to fill fuel tanks amid fears of a supply crunch.
by PTI |
