Hyderabad: All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), the apex body of transporters in the country, which has over 3,500 truckers, buses and other small vehicle associations under its umbrella, has said the Centre's move to extend validity of vehicle documents till July 31, is a step which is too little too late.
The government on Sunday said it has extended the validity of various motor vehicles related documents till July 31. No additional or late fee will be charged for delays in validation of documents pending from February 1, it said.
Read more:Govt extends validity of vehicle documents till July 31
"This is an important relief measure, but too little, too late. Once the extension period is over, we will be back to square one. There is no business and majority of vehicles, about 65-70 per cent are off roads. Transporters are equally concerned about non-extension of motor insurance, interest on EMI's, state permits fees, goods tax, passenger tax, motor vehicles tax etc, which are still to be paid," (AIMTC) president Kultaran Singh Atwal told ETV Bharat.
“All hopes, which were pinned on the COVID-19 Atmanirbhar Bharat package had shattered and we feel completely ignored by the government,” the president further added.
Plight of the drivers
“The drivers had braved it all since the initial days of lockdown. They got stranded, starved with no food and water as roadside dhabas and restaurants remained shut. The fear of contracting COVID-19 led to many drivers and helpers to abandon their vehicles and leave for their native places."
"Partial relaxation on the transport of essential commodities added to the worries of the drivers who stayed back. They were confused about whether their supplies come under essential or regular categories. Police high-handedness only added to their miseries."
“All these reduced the fleet strength to barely 30 per cent across the country. Still, AIMTC kept their vehicles going in the greater interest of the nation. The regular plying increased manifold the chance of the drivers contracting COVID-19. But, unlike frontline workers, they neither got any insurance benefits nor any financial support from the Government,” said Atwal.
Difficulties of the owners
“Though consignment orders declined drastically due to these hurdles, the association's members in North, East, West and South zones had to keep their vehicles on road. Now the drivers are reluctant to return to work even after persuasion as they are scared of contracting the disease. In many cases, owner-drivers have to sit behind the wheels.” the AIMTC President said.
From the East, one of the prominent trucker associations seemed worried.
“We incurred huge expenses and difficulties in doing vehicle maintenance work. Goods transportation service operates on a shoestring budget in comparison to operational costs, which are much higher. Only two-way consignment traffic can suffice the expenses and earn profits."
"We need to do upfront payments for almost all expenses like payment of drivers and helpers, road taxes, fuel costs, licence and permit renewal fees, insurance premium, monthly instalments against auto loans and maintenance cost. COVID-19 has disturbed the whole system and overburdened us with financial liabilities,” says Prabir Chatterjee, Joint Secretary, Hooghly United Truck Welfare Association of West Bengal.
Financial Stress
“In most situations, the upfront payments we did to transport fruits and vegetable supplies, received no payments from shippers because of spoilage due to stranding. Now, most AIMTC member associations even lack the minimum working capital to get their vehicles moving. The validity of important documents like national permit, renewal of licenses are either at the verge of expiry or have expired. If the government can handhold the sector and waive the hefty amount spent on insurance premiums, it will be of great help. Extension of a moratorium against loans is only momentary relief as we have to pay later on,” Atwal said.
"Also, there is a confusion in e-way bill as well, there are some cases where e-way bills made after March 24 have expired and the vehicles are seized by the GST officials," further added (AIMTC) general secretary Naveen Kumar Gupta.
The AIMTC says repeated requests to the Centre for a stimulus package have fallen to deaf ears.
“The hike in petrol and diesel prices had raised the expenses by 10 per cent. Costs of sanitising the facilities, drivers and vehicles is an additional burden today. We are talking to both the Centre and the states, but we are yet to receive any relief,” rues Atwal.
Staring at an uncertain future
"Continuous lockdown had stopped or slowed down manufacturing work in most sectors. Though there has been some resumption in operations after relaxation of lockdown norms, yet things are happening at a staggering pace. This means there will be no immediate consignment deals. Even if we get some, it will mostly be one-way traffic. Moreover, with the ever-rising COVID 19 cases, drivers are skeptical to commute to red and orange zones. Police atrocities still go on unabated. Truckers are complaining that in some states, police are risking drivers safety against COVID 19 by forcing them to carry migrants in their vehicles,” complains AIMTC general secretary Naveen Kumar Gupta.
Impact on Consumer Markets
“The goods transport service functions as an artery in the supply-demand value chain. Truckers pick up the farm produce and raw materials for medicines and other goods and deliver them to the manufacturing facilities and consumer markets. Farm produce, which is perishable in nature, is mostly transported through trucks, the cheapest mode of transport. Lack of availability of trucks and manpower in the initial days of lockdown has already caused losses to farmers. We play a crucial role to keep the supply-demand chain going on,” explains Bal Malkit Singh of AIMTC (West Zone).
"We have approximately 20 lakh people depending directly or indirectly on this sector. If the Government does not provide any stimulus package, soon the wheels carrying essential goods will stop and if it happens, surely there will be a crisis of vegetables and fruits, life-saving medicines and essential commodities across the country. It is a perfect recipe for spiraling inflation,” cautioned Atwal.
(ETV Bharat Report)
