Bihar: Thousands of Truck and Bus Drivers Hold Chakka Jam Against New Hit-and-run Law, Normal Life Affected

Patna: Normal life was hit in Bihar on Tuesday, with thousands of trucks, dumpers, buses and auto-rickshaws remaining off the roads and their owners, drivers, helpers and other staff staging protests (chakka jam) against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government's new law that has the provision of 10 years of jail term and heavy penalty of Rs 7 lakh in hit and run cases.

The protest entered its second day on Tuesday as a part of the countrywide chakka jam against the new law. They started chakka jam on Monday itself, demanding the withdrawal of the new law. Some protestors in Motihari, the district headquarters of East Champaran, reportedly burnt effigies of Union Home Minister Amit Shah on January 1.

The sloganeering protestors, comprising mostly drivers, helpers and transporters, blocked several national highways NHs), state highways(SHs) and other roads across Bihar on January 2. They have parked their vehicles on the streets, blocking traffic and resulting in long queues of different vehicles in most of the districts in the state.

As per reports, thousands of trucks, dumpers and buses are standing on bypass roads in Patna and similar roads in Rohtas, Nalanda, Jehanabad, Kaimur, East Champaran, Begusarai, Bhagalpur, Aurangabad, Nawada and other districts in the state. Long queues of trucks and buses on roadsides have also disrupted normal traffic on these roads.

Karu Prasad, a middle-aged truck driver protesting against the new law, said it is a black law and totally against the drivers and owners. "We( drivers)have been working hard day and night to earn a livelihood; our monthly salary is not more than 12 to 15 thousand per month. Is it not a draconian law to put us in jail for ten years and impose a heavy fine in the name of hit-and-run cases," Prasad, who belongs to neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and parked his truck nearly zero miles from Patna since Monday in protest, told NewsClick.

Prasad asked how the BJP government expects poor drivers and helpers to pay a hefty penalty.

In Patna, drivers of CNG town buses remained off the roads as their drivers and helpers supported the protestors. Hundreds of auto-rickshaws also joined the protest and stayed off the streets on Tuesday, affecting daily commuters in the city.

Thousands of people, including migrant workers, arriving at different railway stations like Patna, Gaya, Hajipur, and Muzaffarpur are facing difficulty in getting buses or other vehicles to reach their native villages due to the Chakka Jam.

Rumours are also spreading that there will be an acute shortage of petrol and diesel at petrol pumps here. Two-wheelers and four-wheelers were seen in large numbers outside petrol pumps in Patna and other towns as people feared that rumours might be true.

Protestors also blocked Gandhi Setu, the longest bridge on the river Ganga in Hajipur in Vaishali, considered the lifeline connecting Patna to North Bihar. It was reported that a government railway police constable threatened to shoot protesting drivers, helpers, and transporters in Hajipur after they refused to end their blocking. This angered protestors so much that the police team fled from the site.

Bihar Motor Transport Federation's president, Uday Shankar Singh, said their ongoing protest is a total success all across the state. "No doubt it disrupted traffic on NHs and SHs. The protest has affected trade and business worth crores since Monday, but it is a must to protect the interests of drivers and transporters. The central government should withdraw the new law soon to minimise the impact of protests on business and the economy," he said.

Singh said the transportation of essential goods, including vegetables, fruits, milk, medicines, and food items, has been hit badly due to protests. Even traders engaged in construction materials and other things are likely to be affected by it. This will result in a hike in the prices of these items, putting an extra burden on common people, who are already facing high inflation.