BENGALURU: Pressure on the State government to revoke the ban on heavy vehicles entering the city is mounting every day.
On Monday, a delegation from trade body Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) met Home Minister K J George and appealed to him to reconsider the decision taken by the traffic police to prevent heavy vehicles from entering the city between 6 am to 10 pm.
The delegation highlighted issues faced by manufacturers and traders because of the ban and said sourcing the required technical and skilled staff for unloading, receipt and accounting of incoming material was ‘very difficult’ and thefts would increase.
It is demanding that these vehicles be allowed to enter the city between 11 am and 4 pm. “The Minister was kind enough to assure us of a rethink on allowing vehicles,” a statement by FKCCI president S Sampathraman said.
Meanwhile, the members of the Federation of Goods Trucks Association held a protest outside Town Hall demanding that the timings be revised.
A statement issued by the group said, “There are no statistics to support that heavy vehicles are causing accidents. If they (police) want to talk about noise and air pollution because of heavy vehicles, they should look at BMTC buses which cause more pollution.”
According to National Crime Records Bureau statistics (NCRB), there were 101 deaths in accidents involving private lorries as compared to 92 deaths caused by State-run buses and 17 deaths caused by private buses in the city in 2013. Additionally, 97 deaths were caused by tempo/vans in the same period, it said.
The ban on heavy vehicle movement was announced to curb increasing complaints related to traffic jams caused by haphazardly parked trucks and rising levels of pollution.
The protesters, however, said parking on roads could not be prevented as the goods had to be unloaded. Their demands included the reinstatement of suspended licences of those drivers who had been caught breaking rules.