Lockdown disrupts movement of trucks, drivers face hardship
| Date :27-Mar-2020 |
Business Bureau :
Even as the Government announced safe passage for movement of trucks, thousands of the vehicles can be seen stranded at various spots all over the places. Trucks carrying goods are standing in serpentine queues at various check posts, districts and state borders and other similar spots. Pardi Naka, Amravati Road, Butibori and Kanhan are some of the places where serpentine queues of vehicles can be spotted. According to Kuku Marwah, President of Nagpur Truckers Unity (NTU), more than 15,000 trucks are stranded in Vidarbha region. “It is mainly because authorities are restricting the drivers at many locations. At other places, the authorities are not allowing the vehicles during day time. Thus it has become extremely difficult for the drivers to survive in such a situation,” he said adding that roads have been barricaded at many new locations that are very difficult to clear.
Marwah said that many trucks carrying essential commodities have also not reached their destinations for one or the other reasons. “We have been receiving mobile calls of many drivers who are facing hardship. They are running from pillar to post in search of food as most of the ‘dhabas’ are closed,” he said. Besides restrictions, many trucks are stranded because of non-availability of labourers to unload the trucks. “Large number of trucks have been parked near godowns in Wadi, Hingna and Butibori waiting for unloading. Adding to the woes, most of the godowns are shut down and there are no signs of immediate relief,” he said. As soon as the Government declared lock-down, large number of labourers migrated to their native places creating a big vacuum in the system.
Apart from this in 10-15 per cent cases, the drives have abandon their vehicles fearing the spread of Corona virus. “There is a panic among some drivers who do not wish to continue in the current situation,” he pointed out. In the meanwhile, as a part of its social responsibility, the Nagpur Truckers Unity on Thursday distributed food packets among the stranded drivers at Pardi Naka. The association is motivating the drivers to face the challenge. It is also creating awareness among them on how to prevent themselves from getting infected from the virus. It is important to note that the State Government had on Wednesday allowed safe passage for truck drivers.