TRICHY: As part of the national-wide strike called by the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), around 5,000 trucks remained off the road in Trichy district on Friday. The truckers are on strike to press for their demands, including scraping of toll charges.Around 5,000 trucks in Trichy, mostly involved in shipping essential commodities, vegetables, construction materials and fertilisers across the eight central districts of Tamil Nadu , are participating in the stir.Though there was no impact on the supply of essential commodities on the first day of the strike, truck owners said the intensity of the stir would be felt in the coming week. Trichy District Lorry Owners Association secretary R K Prabhakaran said, “There seems to be no invite for talks to end the all India strike. Traders may have inventory to supply for about next two days. After that, the demand for essential commodities would soar.”“If the stir continues till Sunday, we can expect the ensuing week to be a tough period for both traders and consumers. Governments should take an amicable decision,” Prabhakaran added.Stating that frequent hike in diesel price had been affecting their operation cost, the truckers’ association here claimed that the support for the indefinite stir was unprecedented with truckers voluntarily halting their heavy vehicles.Truckers said the hike in fuel prices and annual hike in toll charges as two major reasons for the nation-wide stir.The truck owners demanded that the central government streamline the third-party insurance premium for trucks. They said premium had seen a two-fold surge in the last two years.The truckers also sought the Tamil Nadu government to cut the value-added tax (VAT) on fuel.

Stay updated with all the Latest Trichy headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.