The new Motor Vehicle Act, under the garb of minimising road accident deaths, is intended to throw a red carpet to big operators while depriving small players and workers of their livelihood, opined the speakers at a roundtable of all trade unions held at the CITU Office here on Saturday.
Appealing to all transporters to observe a total strike on April 30 to demand withdrawal of the proposed Act, they said that the proposed new Act makes it imperative for transport operators including autos, taxis, mini buses, lorries and other vehicles to install GPS, compulsory wearing of seat belts by all the occupants of these vehicles. All these mean, huge investment and sale of old vehicles. Small operators and individual driver-cum-owners will not be in a position to comply with these rules and they would be thrown out of business, the speakers opined.
Nearly 90 per cent of the transporters are small or individuals owners, who would now be thrown onto the roads. All India Road Transport Workers Federation vice president R. Lakshmaiah ridiculed the contention of the government that the new law was aimed at minimising road accident deaths, creation of more jobs and ensuring GDP growth. He said that even in advanced nations like the US and Europe, accidents were high, despite compliance with the rules and good roads.
AITUC leader G. Vamana Murthy attributed the growing road accident deaths due to drunken driving but the governments were issuing licenses to open wine shops and bars even along the National Highway. Visakhapatnam Lorry Owners Association president K. Nageswara Rao and CITU city president P. Venkata Reddy were among those who spoke.
Demanding withdrawal of the proposed new Motor Vehicle Act
