Hit and Run Law: Assam drivers call for 48-hour strike to protest new provisions

A joint platform of Assam transporter unions has called for a 48-hour strike from Friday to protest against the new penal law on hit-and-run cases. Due to this the movement of all commercial vehicles in Assam is likely to stop. Regarding the strike, several unions of public transport including buses, cabs and autos, goods carriers, and fuel tankers have joined hands and announced their participation in the movement.

Ramen Das, convenor of the joint platform of Assam Motor Workers Association, said, "The government wants to blame only the drivers for any unfortunate incident, even if they have not committed the crime. Instead of improving the road conditions, they want to blame the poor drivers. are being punished.” He said no driver intentionally causes a fatal accident and many times others involved in the accident are at fault.

Das said the new law on hit-and-run cases is anti-driver and against the owners of vehicles. We call for a strike of all vehicles from 5 am on Friday to 5 am on Sunday to press our demand for withdrawal of the law. Under the Indian Penal Code (BNS), which replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC), drivers who cause a serious road accident by rash driving and flee without informing the authorities can be punished with imprisonment of up to 10 years or 7 years of imprisonment. There can be a fine of Rs lakh.

In the British era IPC, the punishment for such crimes was two years. He said the transporters' forum has also asked private car owners to join the movement as the law applies to everyone, whether one is driving a commercial vehicle or a small car. Meanwhile, long queues of people were seen at petrol pumps across the state as they queued up to get their vehicles' tanks filled amid fears of fuel shortage.

Also Read: Hit & Run Law: Reconciliation between government-transporters; Drivers will return to work immediately, strike ends after assurance