25 Punjabi truckers stuck in Bengal

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 26

Nearly 25 Punjabi truckers have been stuck in West Bengal for the past three days due to the lockdown imposed in the country.

The truckers, who had gone to West Bengal to supply essential items, on Thursday sent a video to members of the Punjab Truck Union seeking permission for them from the government to cross over state barriers to reach home.

Palminder Singh Kolar, a trucker, said, “We were near Shaktinagar in Bardhaman district of West Bengal with the supply of rice and potatoes when the lockdown was announced by our PM.”

The truckers said the lockdown brought their vehicles to a halt all of a sudden. “Our 17 trucks were unloaded by then, but eight were yet to be unloaded. We called up the companies, the supply of which we were going to deliver, but these also expressed helplessness. So, we went to a hotel as we knew that we have to stay here for 21 days or even more,” Kolar said.

He said, “On Thursday, we were shocked after the local administration forced the hotel authorities to get the premises vacated, bringing us on roads. We arranged a 5 kg LPG cylinder on our own. We tried our best to get some dry ration from the city, but to no avail. We had some stock of rice and potatoes, which we had with us to deliver. Finally, we decided to use it for us. We really do not know how we will be able to sustain without onion, wheat flour and spices.”

The truckers said for lodging, they had an option to either lie down by the roadside or use their trucks. “Our families back home are worried as they do not know when we will return. They have been calling us after few hours to know our well-being and to check when we will come back. But, we don’t have any answer,” they said.

“We do not want to get humiliated. We have been watching videos in which truckers are being canecharged by the police. We are not ready to face all this and we want proper permission for returning home,” the truckers added.

The truckers belong to Ludhiana, Patiala, Gurdaspur and Jalandhar districts. Happy Sandhu, president of the Punjab Truck Union, said, “The state government must think about these truckers and ensure that they are allowed to travel back home. There must be more truckers like Palminder, who are stuck in various parts of the country.”