As per reports, on Monday (01 January), over 2.5 lakh trucks and over 3000 buses remained off the road and were joined by drivers of auto-rickshaws and taxis, as part of a nationwide strike against a new law which includes an increased jail term of 07-10 years for hit-and-run cases
• Operations of Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC), as well as private buses, were impacted due to most of the drivers being on strike. Approximately 3000 buses are not in operation in the state, which amounts to nearly half of the daily fleet in operation.
• In Qaiserbagh (Lucknow), buses were stranded while Western UP was the worst affected.
• Several buses have been stalled at toll plazas where truck drivers are protesting and have held up the booths with altercations also being reported at toll plazas on Kanpur Road.
• Drivers also blocked the buses by going to the roadway stand in Lucknow and no bus was allowed to come out of the depot there. Those vehicles that left the depot in the morning and went on the route were also said to have been stopped on the way.
• Drivers blocked the movement of trucks in Transport Nagar Lucknow, the Lucknow Kanpur Road, Sitapur Road and Ayodhya Road in the state capital. The police removed the trucks parked on the Kanpur Road by using slight force to smoothen the traffic.
• In Meerut, over 10,000 trucks did not ply on the day as the Transport Association of Meerut backed the strike.
• At Gorakhpur bus station, 164 government and 225 other buses couldn’t ply on Monday as a result of the strike. In Deoria, the services of 67 government and 129 other buses were hit.
• In Basti, the National Highway-28 was blocked by bus and truck drivers for three hours in the morning. Also, over 200 buses at Dumariyaganj, Mehdawal and Balrampur remained parked at the local depots for the entire day.
• The Prayagraj region also virtually came to a standstill following the strike by transporters, tempo and taxi unions along with e-rickshaw drivers. Transporters and drivers staged protests at Prayagraj Junction, Civil Lines bus station, Rambagh and other spots.
