Criticising the proposed Rs 50 a day fine over a lack of fitness certificates for trucks and a green tax on the vehicle, truck owners during a meeting held in Sanvordem on Sunday said that these measures will further add to their financial burden as their sector is already facing stress due to the closure of mining in the State.
Urging truck owners to come together and fight for their cause, Truck Owners Association President Baburao Naik question, “Why will the truck owners pay the tax and get the fitness certificate when the trucks are not being operated?”
Naik said they have submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant highlighting their grievances and that they will wait for another two days before resorting to next course of action.
There are 14,000 trucks owners in South Goa who are facing a financial crisis, informed Naik.
“The government has been giving one assurance after another with the respect to the resumption of mining in the State, but to no avail. It is high time that we all come together and fight for our cause or else the government will take us for granted,” Naik added.
One of the speakers at the meeting, Ravindra Audienkar expressed that the government has taken the truck owners for granted as the truck owners do not unitedly come together to fight but work under different associations.
Expressing his feelings, Ravindra Audienkar said that the government has taken the truck owners for granted as they do not unite to fight for their cause, but work under different associations.
While the associations may be different, the issue and demand is the same, he added.
Audienkar urged them to come together to come under one banner and fight for their cause.
A truck owner, Keshav Naik, said that considering the various taxes imposed on a truck, the transport business has become unviable.
