- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Under the new law, 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 (£6,587).
By: Shubham Ghosh
DRIVERS of commercial vehicles, including lorries and tankers, stopped work in parts of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh from Monday (1) and blocked roads at some places as part of a strike against a provision in the new penal law.
Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita passed recently by the Narendra Modi government replacing 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 (£6,587).
Talking to the Press Trust of India, All India Motor Transport Congress’s former vice president (western region) Vijay Kalra said, “Around five lakh (500,000) small and big vehicles are not able to run in Madhya Pradesh due to the drivers’ strike against the new law.”
Kalra demanded that the government withdraw the provisions of strict punishment to drivers in “hit-and-run” cases and separate lanes be created for commercial vehicles, especially on highways, to prevent road accidents.
In the city of Gwalior, the agitating drivers staged a protest on Jhansi Road.
According to officials, the public transport facilities in Indore city as well as the operation of inter-city passenger buses have been affected due to the drivers’ strike, causing inconvenience to thousands of travellers.
Madhya Pradesh Petroleum Dealers Association president Ajay Singh told PTI in Bhopal that the fuel supply situation will be normalised across the state by Tuesday evening.
“We have persuaded our tanker drivers and they have reached the petrol depots to bring the fuel for supply at petrol pumps,” he said.
On Monday night, Bhopal collector Ashish Singh went to a petrol depot here to monitor the situation of fuel supply.
After the inspection, he said the petroleum companies were carrying out the work of fuel supply through their own vehicles.
“Ten lakh (1 million) litres of petrol and diesel have been supplied through the vehicles of petroleum companies. People do not need to panic and queue up at the fuel stations,” he said.
Indore’s Ahilya Chamber of Commerce and Industries president Ramesh Khandelwal said if the drivers’ strike continues, the supply of essential commodities will worsen which will have a direct impact on consumers.
He said the government should reconsider the provisions of strict punishment in “hit-and-run” cases.
Indore collector Ilayaraja T said there was no shortage of petrol and diesel in the district and these fuels were being supplied continuously.
The collectors of various other districts including Rewa, Alirajpur, Anuppur, Shahdol and Narmadapuram also appealed to the people not to panic as an adequate supply of fuel was being maintained.
On Monday, state Transport Minister Rao Uday Pratap Singh appealed to the agitating drivers to discuss their issue with the government.
“Enacting a law doesn’t mean it was made to take penal action against them. They should sort out the issue through discussions. We will talk to them,” he said, adding the government will ensure smooth movement of people and vehicles on priority.
(With PTI inputs)
