Demanding a rollback on hike in diesel price, the Federation of Karnataka State Lorry Owners’ and Agents’ Association along with All India Motor Transport Congress called a 24-hour All India token goods strike.
More than eight lakh and other vehicles in the state remained off the roads on Thursday, while close to 65 lakh trucks and lorries were off the roads across India. “We have given 30 days time to the state and Union government to rollback the hike in diesel price. If the prices are not rolled back, we will go on an indefinite strike. With the increase in prices of other transport related material, the hike in diesel fare is not justified,” said G R Shanmugappa, president of the federation. The price of diesel in Karnataka is hiked by `6.13.
“The government should withdraw the cess on diesel. We have suffered loss of `200 crore,” said the secretary of the federation.