R ARIVANANTHAM
CHENNAI, FEB 19
The Indian truck drivers’ body has lamented that despite the Centre had exempted truckers carrying food, medicine, and other essential items from the nationwide lockdown that started on March 25 last year, but in many cases, the message had not gone through to police on the highways and officials at state border checkpoints. This resulted in police stopping them for defying coronavirus lockdown, and many of them were beaten and made to do sit-ups, says an office-bearer here on Friday.
To drive home their plights and seeking a slew of welfare measures, the Indian Truck Drivers Welfare Consortium (ITDWC) has released an 11-point charter of demands to the political parties. The demands have been made ahead of the assembly elections in four states and one Union Territory — West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and Assam.
Addressing the media, PM Muthukumar, Chairman, ITDWC said, “The truck drivers are vulnerable sections of the society, as they are subjected to untold miseries at the wheels while carrying essentials from one corner to another corner of the nation every day.”
Despite several appeals to the successive governments, most of the drivers are being harassed physically by the police and this should be stopped forthwith, he added.
The consortium with over 10,000 drivers as members across the country urged the political parties to include the demands of the ITDWC in their election manifesto, as these would benefit the drivers who are toiling for their livelihood by risking their lives during the pandemic and even at times of natural calamities.
The ITDWC’s demands include free life insurance and medical insurance cover to them as well their family members, the introduction of a common toll-free number for the drivers in times of accidental emergencies, separate welfare boards, and funding for truck drivers like other unorganised sectors.
The consortium also urged the union government to consider hearing the accident cases through video conferences; otherwise, the cases should be transferred to the home state of concerned drivers.
Muthukumar also demanded a soft loan for truck drivers with a subsidy.
The public sector oil companies, ports, and harbours, tyre, shipping companies, logistic firms should come forward to allocate a certain percentage of their CSR funds for the welfare of the truck drivers, as the majority of them have no statutory benefits — pension and gratuity — like those who retire from government service.
Free education to the wards of physically-challenged truck drivers should be provided up to post-graduation level, Muthukumar added.
