New Delhi: It is not the COVID 2019 curse. A big crisis is unfolding in India as stocks of food, goods and essential commodities are rapidly vanishing off the shelves.
With about 5,00,000 loaded trucks stuck stranded at highways, inter-state borders and other places, the country is on the verge of a crisis that will lead to acute scarcity and unavailability of essential goods and commodities including disruption of social order.
“It is a very grim situation at the ground level. We have about 5,00,000 loaded trucks that are stuck with whatever goods they are carrying. The local administration at the ground level, are not cooperating and are only focused on the single point agenda of enforcing the lockdown. The local police have started beating up truck drivers and even asking for bribes in a time like this,” Pradeep Singhal, chairman of the All India Transporters’ Welfare Association (AITWA) told ETV Bharat.
Singhal said that while some states like West Bengal and Odisha are cooperating, most states were not.
That is why among the decisions taken during a two-hour-long video conference between Union cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba and state chief secretaries on Wednesday was to do away with the distinction between essential and non-essential goods so that stranded trucks can move ahead without being harassed.
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A top government source told ETV Bharat: “Maintaining the supply chain was the main topic of deliberation during the video conference. It has been left to the states to decide how they relax the rules. In other words, all restriction on truck movement has been removed while people movement stands restricted.”
Says Singhal: “We are on the verge of a crash of the supply chain which could be worse than the COVID 2019 epidemic. If things don’t change drastically, we won’t be able to sustain the supply chain for more than a week.”
Most of the states have closed down their borders to all kinds of traffic leading to huge jams on the highways. The trucks were stranded in the aftermath of the sudden and abrupt announcement of the 21-day lockdown from March 24 till April 14 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a major nation-wide bid to prevent the spread of the fast proliferating novel coronavirus.
“At that point in time, most of the truckers were already on their journey. Amid the confusion and logistical problems like lack of food etc., many drivers abandoned their vehicles on the highways and left for their native homes,” said Praveen Khandelwal, secretary-general, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).
According to Khandelwal, on the average, whole-sellers have stocks to last for less than 20 days while retailers have stocks for another 4-5 days.
Adds Singhal: “We are trying to convince the enforcement agencies that once the supply system crashes, it will be next to impossible getting back our truck drivers, labourers who upload and download goods, who will probably move to their villages and native places.”
However, Singhal admits that as of now it is a double-edged sword for the government and a tough call to take, whether to get the supply chain going or to enforce the lockdown.
