Roadside dhabas extorting money for releasing parked trucks: Truckers body

New Delhi, May 12

Truckers on Tuesday alleged that roadside dhabas and local goons were demanding sums ranging from Rs 200 to 300 per day for releasing vehicles that they had parked at their set-ups and other places during the first phase of lockdown.

Truckers alleged that vehicles had been forcibly detained by dhaba owners in conjunction with local goons who were demanding around Rs 16,000 as parking fee which small operators cannot afford to pay.

“Exorbitant parking fee is being charged by roadside dhaba owners where drivers had abandoned their vehicles during lockdown 1.0,” claimed All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) president Kultaran Singh Atwal.

“The vehicles are being forcibly detained by dhaba owners in conjunction with local goons and they are charging Rs 200 – Rs 300 per day, which amounts to Rs 16,200 per vehicle, which small operators cannot afford,” said Atwal.

Thousands of vehicles are stranded across the country due to restricted mobility, he said.

“This situation is common in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh,” Atwal said, charging that rampant extortion of truckers is going on in Madhya Pradesh in the name of entry fee, especially at the Sendhwa border.

Besides cases of theft of batteries, tyres and goods are also concerning the fraternity at large whose loaded vehicles are at risk, he said and demanded “safety and security” of goods and vehicles stranded on highways.

Truckers have claimed that they were still facing high-handedness and harassment, especially at state borders and checkpoints, despite guidelines in place for seamless movement of trucks carrying essentials and goods.

They reiterated their demand for protection, saying the situation on the ground remained unchanged as they are still dealing with extortion, corruption, misbehaviour and even FIRs.

There are so many reports coming from Assam, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana, among others about truck drivers being misbehaved and tortured, according to the truckers’ body, which warned of supply disruptions if their “corona warriors” are subject to such inhuman treatment.

The AIMTC on Sunday had claimed that 300 trucks carrying fruits and vegetables worth Rs 9 crore were stuck at Rajasthan border and were allowed entry into Delhi only after a high-voltage drama. PTI