HYDERABAD: Truckers knocked on the doors of the Telangana High Court, seeking protection from TRS activists who they said had threatened them that they would set fire to trucks, beat up drivers and dire consequences to operators if they operated lorries on April 6 and 7 as they intended to organise rasta rokos against the Centre over procurement of rabi paddy.
The Kakatiya Lorry Owners' Association, represented by its president Vangala Sammi Reddy on Tuesday moved a house motion seeking orders to restrain TRS leaders and activists from conducting protests.
The association brought to the notice of the High Court the TRS' proposed rasta rokos on April 6, and 7 which it said would affect the livelihood of those dependent on the transport sector apart from causing dislocation to the public.
The petitioner contended that TRS local leaders and workers went to the registered office of the association on Monday and informed that they would be holding district-wide agitations and "Rasta Roko" to block Nagpur, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Vijayawada National Highways on April 6, sit on "deekshas" at the district headquarters the next day.
The petitioner contended that the TRS members warned the association against plying lorries on April 6 and 7 and threatened to burn trucks and beat up drivers if they did so.
He urged the court to declare the proposed protest as illegal, arbitrary and unconstitutional and direct the authorities to take all necessary steps so that the trucks would have easy access to National Highways, State Highways and other roads and urged the court to ensure that the highways are not blocked.
Justice Radha Rani, after going through the plea, directed the registry to list the case on Wednesday as the first case.