By TC News Desk
Agartala, 17th July 2024:. Around 16 days after the enactment of three new laws, bus drivers initiated a strike, halting bus services and other medium-sized vehicles from Udaipur to various parts of the state on Wednesday morning. Passengers were left stranded at Rajarbagh station, facing significant inconvenience.
Drivers have voiced their concerns about the new legislation, which imposes a fine of Rs 7 lakh and a prison sentence of eight to ten years if a fatal accident occurs. “We don’t have that kind of money or property,” said one driver. “If someone dies in an accident, we would have to bear fines of hundreds of millions of rupees and serve ten years in jail. Our families are already struggling.”
The striking drivers are demanding the government to retract these stringent laws, which they argue are excessively punitive. “For the sake of transport workers, the government should withdraw this law,” one protester asserted. “If not, we will cease bus services from Udaipur to various locations and will not drive the next day.”
Highlighting the severity of the situation, a driver recounted a recent incident: “A few days ago, a bus driver received a harsh judgment. He had accidentally run over a man in Vishalgarh in 2015 and was recently sentenced to ten years in prison. His family is now in despair, with his wife uncertain about how to manage their future.”
The drivers emphasize that such laws are intolerable. “From a humanitarian point of view, it is necessary to withdraw these laws immediately. Otherwise, bus and small car services will be halted across the entire state,” warned another driver.
