Transporters strike of 48 hours long duration which was called by Assam Transport Associations hit harder normal life of Assam on Friday turning the state into a chaotic engineless place. Stray incidents of burning tyres, driving licenses and picketing were seen in different parts of Assam. The strike was a demonstration to show protest against the controversial provision of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), particularly the provisions in the hit-and-run cases. However, the 48 hours strike reduced to 24 hours as per decision taken by the All Assam Motor Workers Association (AAMWA).
Image Source: CMV360
Controversial provision of BNS:
The BNS law which will replace the Indian Penal Code, mandates that the driver who causes serious road accidents due to negligent driving and run away without informing police or administration, can face up to 10 years in prison or a fine of Rs 7 lakh.
Dhiren Sharma, president of AAMWA said that the new law puts all blame on drivers and it has harshly increased the punishment from two years to 10 years in ‘hit-and-run’ cases. The law claims that if a driver takes the injured person to hospital after the accident, the punishment will be reduced to half but in actual case, if a driver does this, he will be attacked by mob. Now the serious threat is who will protect the driver? And in case the driver is careful yet accident happens for such cases isn’t 10 years too harsh on his family and life?
Another union protestors blamed government for making the law on hit-and-run cases as anti-drivers and against owners of vehicles. In reality every time the driver is not responsible for road accidents there are multiple factors behind road fatalities including potholes, broken/damaged road, non-highlighted accident-prone zone and congestion etc. But the government is overlooking these causes and blaming everything on driver which is anti-driver and drivers needs to come forward for the safety and justice.
Ramifications of strike:
On the call of protestors and president of AAMWA, public carriers were off the roads and commuters had a hard time managing travel with only the state-run buses. Logistical carriers; truckers, tankers and aggregators participated in the strike.
School, colleges and offices faced the crisis posed by transportation strike. Many schools in Assam had to shut down due to the inconveniences. Both students and teachers were unable to present in the institutions. Besides school buses also did not operate and joined the protest.
Yet, few transportations such as E-rickshaws, autorickshaws and rickshaws were seen running in deserted paths of few city areas. Petrol depots observed a sudden rush to buy petrol because of panic situation caused by long duration strike.
Demands of AAMWA:
AAMWA suggested repeal of the non-bailable provision of 10 years imprisonment and fine of up to Rs 10 lakh in hit-and-run cases under the BNS law. The State Trasport Commissioner organised a meeting with representatives of the All Assam Motor Workers Association (AAMWA) with respect to their demands.
Called off the strike and reducing it to 24 hours only:
At the meeting with the Transport Commissioner, AAMWA submitted its memorandum for considering their stand and introspect into the controversial provision of the BNS law. On government assurance AAMWA is calling off the strike to 24 hours only. AAMWA believed that the government will cooperate in understanding their concern of life and security by reviewing the sensitive clauses of BNS law.
