TIRUCHY: Though the government permitted the transportation of all essential and non-essential goods earlier this week, still many lorry drivers and owners in the city refrain to get back on roads, fearing the spread of coronavirus.
"We do not want our drivers to contract virus. Everyone has to make an earning and support his family, but we can't risk it. We are trying to support them and do everything to prevent the spread," said G Subbu, a lorry owner and president of the Tiruchy Lorry Owners Association.
Although few drivers have volunteered to continue their work, they said that at times of emergency there was no repair shop or hotel around.
Chella Durai, a driver ferrying essential goods, narrated his difficulty in finding a shop to repair his flattened tyre. "I had to arrange for a secondary vehicle to carry the tyre and go almost 15 kms to repair it. In what could have been finished in three to four, took almost 10 hours," he rued. He added that except for issues in vehicle passes, drivers did not face any problem travelling on roads.
The Tiruchy Lorry Owners Association also lauded the efforts of the police and sanitation workers for working round the clock to contain the spread of the virus.