Trichy: As many as 5 ,000 trucks in Trichy district remained off roads on Friday as part of the nation-wide agitation called by All India Motor Transport Congress (AITMC).Though the first day of strike called by the truckers’ body did not impact the supply of essential commodities, truck owners said that intensity of the ongoing stir would be felt in the coming week. Their five-point demands include scraping of toll fee. They said that the hike in fuel prices and annual hike in toll fee were the two major reasons for the nation-wide stir.Stating that frequent hike in diesel price affected their operational costs, the truckers association here claimed that the support for indefinite stir was unprecedented with truckers voluntarily halting their heavy vehicles in support of the protest. R K Prabhakaran, secretary of Trichy district lorry owners association, said, “Thus far there seems to be no invite for peace talk to end the strike. Traders have stocked goods for the next two days, after which the need for essential commodities will soar.” Truck owners demanded that the Union government streamline third-party insurance premium for trucks, stating that it had seen a two-fold increase in the past two years. They also asked the Tamil Nadu government to cut the Value Added Tax (VAT) levied on fuel products to ease overall diesel price to an extent.Around 5,000 trucks in Trichy, mostly involved in shipping essential commodities, vegetables, construction materials, and fertilisers across the across eight central districts are participating in the stir. “If the stir continues till Sunday, we can expect the ensuing week to be tough for both traders and consumers. Governments should take an amicable decision,” Prabhakaran added.

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