SIMTA calls for vehicle bandh from Dec 10

 Vijayawada: The South India Motor Transport Association (SIMTA) called for a bandh of transport vehicles from midnight of December 9, strongly opposing the steep hike in fitness charges for transport vehicles. The decision was taken at a key meeting of SIMTA held in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, on Monday.

Demanding that the Centre roll back the hike and continue the earlier fee structure, SIMTA resolved to keep all lorries above 12 years off the roads until the government responds positively.

Transport associations from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Puducherry and Kerala participated in the meeting and unanimously approved the resolutions.

SIMTA South Zone president P Gopal Naidu, secretary Shanmugappa and All India Motor Transport Congress South Zone vice-president Y V Eswara Rao announced this in a statement. They said that transport operators, especially self-employed owners of vehicles older than 12 years that operate to railway goods yards and for civil supplies, would participate in the bandh.

They criticised the Central government’s recent notification issued on November 11, which raised the fitness fee for a single vehicle from Rs.1,340 to Rs 33,000, describing it as an arbitrary and unbearable burden. The leaders said this massive increase has pushed owners of old Lorries into severe financial distress. Thousands of vehicles across southern states are already off the roads as operators are unable to afford the new fitness charges, they said.