Jaipur: More than 10,000 trucks remained off roads across Rajasthan Tuesday as transport associations pressed an indefinite strike against new rules introduced by the transport department, threatening widening disruption to freight movement and supplies of perishable goods.The strike, which began Monday, is set to enter its third day Wednesday after talks failed to produce a breakthrough. Transporters have stopped accepting fresh bookings and are not uploading new consignments. Vehicles already in transit have been exempted for now, but operators said they would join the protest after unloading their cargo.“We will continue the strike on Wednesday. We are not going to withdraw until the state govt withdraws its policies,” said Jagdish Chaudhary, president of the Vishwakarma Transport Association.The associations are objecting to several measures, including mandatory installations of Vehicle Location Tracking Devices, permit-related conditions, fitness certificate renewals and e-detection challans. A VLTD is a GPS-based device used to monitor a commercial vehicle’s location, speed, route and real-time movement, and has been made compulsory for certain categories of vehicles.Chaudhary alleged that the cost of installing the devices in Rajasthan was far higher than in other states. “The same GPS-based VLTDs cost around Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,500 in Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Bihar and Assam, but transporters in Rajasthan are being asked to pay between Rs 25,000 and Rs 30,000,” he said. He added that 35,000 to 40,000 trucks requiring all-India permits had been affected because permits cannot be issued without VLTDs.Loading and unloading operations have been hit at key freight hubs, including Jaipur’s Transport Nagar and Vishwakarma Industrial Area. Protest leaders said they may also stop trucks entering Rajasthan from other states.
