Demonetisation brings trucks to a halt; drivers 'virtually begging' for food

With no money to buy food or pay taxes at check points, thousands of truck drivers are stranded at the Bihar-West Bengal-Assam borders.

M I Khan reports.

The demonetisation drive has resulted in thousands of trucks carrying perishable items being stranded at the Bihar-West Bengal-Assam borders since the last few days, officials said on Saturday.

The goods in the trucks, which include vegetables, fruits, fish and eggs, are now either rotting or are in bad condition.

"There is no cash with the drivers due to lack of new notes to pay taxes at the borders, and the state governments have not waived them off so far. This has badly hit transport services and affected inter-state trade," a transport department official said.

Bihar Truck Owners Association president Bhanu Shekhar Singh told rediff.com that nearly 90 percent of transport business, especially trucking, has come to a stop thanks to demonetisation.

"Look, we are helpless. The lack of currency notes in the denomination of 100, 50, 20, 10 and the new 500, has forced truck drivers to halt at the borders of different states. They just cannot make the entry tax payments at check points."

Singh said dozens of truck owners had told him that their drivers and assistants were "starving and virtually begging to make ends meet."

"The situation is no different at the international border checkpoints at Jogbani, Raxaul, Jainagar, Bhitta More and Sunhauli along the Bihar-Nepal border," he added.

Singh cited the case of two truck drivers, Sultan Khan and Mukesh Yadav. While Khan, who left from Jammu with fruits for Assam last week, is stranded at the Dalkhola check post, Yadav's consignment of fish from Andhra Pradesh is on verge of total damage at the Bihar-West Bengal border.

Rakesh Gupta, who owns three trucks, said his drivers managed to get diesel with the old notes but without were unable to buy food.

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