Soon after the government passed Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), replacing the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the heavy vehicle operators went on a three-day strike on 1 January 2023.
Today is the second day of a nationwide transportation strike, resulting in disruption of fuel supply, causing long queues at petrol pumps in various cities.
The drivers are against the provision of hit-and-run accidents, which can lead to harassment and encourage corruption.
Why are drivers protesting against BNS?
The recently introduced Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) replaced colonial-era IPC, which imposed heavy penalties for hit-and-run cases. The Motorists involved in various road accidents flee the scent without informing the incident to the authorities. Under this new law, individuals, who are responsible for such incidents may face imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine of Rs 7 lakh.
Situations in different states
In Maharashtra, the government has urged people to ensure an uninterrupted supply of petrol, diesel and LPG cylinders to mitigate potential shortages.
The impact of the nationwide strike extends beyond LPG affecting vital petroleum products, including petrol, diesel, and kerosene as outlined to police commissioners and superintendents of police by the Maharashtra Food, Civil Supply and Consumer Protection Department.
Gujarat is also not unaffected by the nationwide strike of heavy vehicle drivers as they strategically placed vehicles to block highways passing through Valsad, Gir Somnath, Kheda, Bharuch, and Mehsana districts leading to disruption on routes such as the Mehsana-Ambaji highway in the Mehsana and the Ahmedabad-Indore highway in Kheda.
Protestors also blocked highways, causing delays and a 10-km traffic jam on the Ahmedabad-Vadodara highway near Kanera Village.
Some parts of Rajasthan are also facing problems as traffic jams are reported on the major highway routes, including the Dholpur-Karauli routes, which include Udaipur-Nathdwara route, Sawai Madhopur-Kota Lalsot route, Anupgarh-Gaganagar and other routes.
Public struggles amid ongoing strike
People in different parts of the country struggle to find buses or taxis. In one of the videos circulating on social media from Bhopal, this morning some of the commuters expressed their frustrations as they couldn't find buses or taxis for travel to Indore after waiting for 1-1.5 hours.
Lengthy queues formed at petrol pumps in Himachal's Dharamshala and Nagpur as drivers associated with the Transport Association protested against the new hit-and-run law on Tuesday.
Protest Videos are going viral
Twitter users are reacting on the protest sharing videos across the country. Here are some of the videos:
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