The strike has created supply issues and rationing of the fuel is being done at certain places to ensure the availability of fuel for all during this period of temporary disruption of fuel supply.
AMN / New Delhi
The Union Home Secretary today met a delegation of protesting truckers amid a stir by drivers against the new law on hit-and-run cases and sources said the issue is likely to be resolved amicably.
Sources also said that truckers’ body The All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) has so far not given a nationwide strike call in support of the demand for the withdrawal of new stringent imprisonment provisions for hit-and-run accident cases under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The meeting is held to discuss their concerns related to the new provisions of hit-and-run cases under the newly-passed Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The meeting is being chaired by Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla at North Block.
Truck, Taxi and Bus operators have started a three day strike yesterday to oppose the provision of 7 lakh rupees penalty and 10-year jail term for hit-and-run cases. The All India Motor Transport Congress has said that these provisions can lead to undue harassment and must be recalled.
Meanwhile sources in the Home Ministry said that the duration of sentences in hit-and-run cases has been increased to 10 years because of the observations made by the Supreme Court. The Apex Court has stated in multiple cases that strict action should be taken against those drivers who recklessly drive vehicles, cause accidents resulting in someone’s death, and then flee the scene.
The strike has created supply issues and rationing of the fuel is being done at certain places to ensure the availability of fuel for all during this period of temporary disruption of fuel supply.
Under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), which replaced the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, drivers who cause a serious road accident by negligent driving and run away without informing the police or any official from the administration can face punishment of up to 10 years or a fine of Rs 7 lakh.
The punishment in such cases was 2 years in the British-era Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The new provisions triggered strikes by drivers in some states, including Maharashtra, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.