Lorry owners urge A.P. government to address woes related to high diesel prices

Andhra Pradesh lorry owners demand immediate action from government to address economic distress caused by adverse policies.

Lorry owners have urged the Andhra Pradesh government to initiate immediate measures to address their long-pending problems.

At a press conference in Vijayawada on Wednesday (November 20, 2024), Andhra Pradesh Lorry Owners’ Association general secretary Y.V. Eeswara Rao said the transport sector was in a deep crisis due to the adverse policies of the previous YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government.

He said truck owners were in economic distress due to several factors that needed to be addressed immediately. Citing the steep hike in diesel prices, which he said was the highest in the country, he said the increased road cess had compounded their woes.

Besides, there was a 30% hike in quarterly tax and fine imposed on vehicles for violation of rules was increased from ₹1,000 to ₹20,000. Similarly, he said, the green tax had been hiked from ₹2,200 to ₹25,000.

He said because of a steep hike in the diesel prices, vehicle owners were going to the neighbouring States to re-fill fuel tanks. “We have been asking the government to constitute a committee to look into this issue without delay,” he said.

Seeking issuing of counter-signature permits for goods transport vehicles, Mr. Eeswara Rao said hundreds of lorry owners from Andhra Pradesh were lining up in Karnataka for registration of their vehicles, resulting in huge revenue loss to the State.

He said in addition to the existing problems, integration of the data related to vehicles in the State from e-Pragathi to the centralised Vahan 4.0, a national register, was causing problems.