A group of senior transporters on Wednesday threatened to halt the movement of essential goods in northern India and subsequently across the country if the demands of farmers protesting against three farm laws passed in September to liberalize the sector.
The All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), a group of freight vehicle operators representing some 10 million truckers, has called for a strike since December 8 in support of the farmers’ protest.
“As of December 8, we will close all our operations in North India and stop all our vehicles in the North Indian states and UT [Union Territories] including Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal and Jammu [& Kashmir]. We have decided that if the government still does not agree with the demands of the protesting farmers, then we will call a Chakka Jam across India and stop all our vehicles, ”said AIMTC President Kultaran Singh Atwal.
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Road transport accounts for about 60% of the freight traffic in India and 87% of its passenger traffic, according to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
Farmers, especially in Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting the three laws, saying that saying will hurt their income even as the government has argued that it will improve it. They say the laws are a precursor to the withdrawal of government support for agriculture and will replace existing intermediaries with more powerful corporate entities.
In a statement, the AIMTC said that carriers are providing unconditional support to the farmers’ agitation. “They are fighting for their legitimate rights. Like India’s road transport sector, the agricultural sector is in fact the backbone and livelihood of the nation … More than 70 percent of rural households depend on agriculture. All of northern India is affected and thousands of trucks transporting food, vegetables and other perishable and non-perishable items from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, J&K [Jammu & Kashmir] they are affected and we still support them, since 65% of the trucks are dedicated to transporting agricultural products, ”the statement read.
“… it is the season of apples, which are wasted, in addition to potatoes, onions and other fruits and vegetables, as well as other basic products such as medicines, milk, etc., since their movement is interrupted, which it is causing its shortage in Delhi and other northern states. The situation will escalate in the coming days unless the government takes prudent and pragmatic steps to address farmers’ concerns … [The farmers] they are fighting their only battle. “
Farmers have been protesting for a week laws that allow companies to freely trade agricultural products outside of the so-called government-controlled mandi system. The laws allow private traders to store large quantities of essential products for future sales and establish new rules for contract farming. Agricultural leaders say the laws will leave them at the mercy of private buyers and vulnerable to exploitation.
Thousands of farmers, who are marching from various states to the national capital to protest the laws, have blocked all major entry points into New Delhi, demanding the repeal of the laws.
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