Truck owners in Odisha urge CM Naveen Patnaik for bailout package
Demand waiver of road tax, moratorium on loan repayment installments; special assistance for drivers and helpers
By A K Sahoo
Bhubaneswar, Aug. 5: Over four thousand truck-owners in Odisha who have severely been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic on Thursday urged chief minister Naveen Patnaik to dole out certain bailout measures to save their families.
In a letter to the chief minister, members of Odisha Truck Owners Sangha (OTWS) said their vehicles were lying idle sans a halt in economic activities in the state and hence they were not in a position to pay their road taxes, insurance fees and support the families directly and indirectly associated with truck transport services.
“During this ongoing pandemic, when the world is silent and people are in their houses to keep themselves away from coronavirus, we have been rendering continuous services for the benefit of the public and society. During the last two years, fuel price has continuously increased and maintenance of the vehicles has been more expensive. At the same time, almost all the industries, except the iron ore based ones, have closed, adversely affecting our operations,” the truck owners said.
Sharing a copy of the letter to the CM with the media, OTWS president Puranjan Padhi said the association has sought waiver of road taxes for two years.
“We have sought exemption of road taxes for two years. We have demanded that those who have paid the tax during this period, they be given exemption for next two years and tax defaulters be forgiven,” Mr Padhi said.
The OTWS has also demanded in the letter for implementation of the fixed rate for freight on kilometer basis as notified by the state government on July 6, 2021.
The association has sought the CM’s intervention to give adequate loads of minerals from mines areas to different ports like Paradip and Gopalpur and other plant sites so as to keep their vehicles running. This part, it has sought exorbitant toll and entry taxes.
“Our financial backbone has completely been broken and we are now literally starving. We have also appealed to the CM to order or advise the bankers to relax the payment of installments of truck buyers for one year. Besides, we have prayed to him for a special package for truck drivers and helpers,” Mr Padhi said.
