The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Vijayawada News : Truckers want user charges scrapped

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 10, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada

Truckers want user charges scrapped

By Our Special Correspondent

VIJAYAWADA, JUNE 9. The Andhra Pradesh Lorry Owners' Association has urged the Chief Minister, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, to scrap user charges collected by Regional Transport Offices. The charges, according to the association, are a burden on transporters.

Members of the association met the Chief Minister a couple of days ago and urged him to bail transporters out of the financial crisis caused, they said, due to the policies of the previous Government.

In a memorandum submitted to the Chief Minister, the association demanded that the toll collected at outdated bridges and bridges constructed using an amount less than Rs. one crore be scraped. The memorandum also expressed concern over the excessive toll collected at four-lane roads, which, it said, cost every lorry driver Rs. 6,000 to Rs. 8,000 a month.

For instance, the memo said, Rs. 1,600 was collected from a lorry travelling from Visakhapatnam to Chennai. The three toll plazas between Nellore and Tada in Andhra Pradesh collected Rs. 460 to Rs. 900 every day for each vehicle travelling between Nellore and Chennai. It added that the Government was collecting Rs. 1.50 on every litre of diesel and petrol to make up for the funds spent on the construction of the four-lane roads. The toll was becoming an additional burden, it said.

The memo urged the Government to slash the toll by at least 50 per cent. It also urged steps to ensure that lorry owners were not harassed by police and transport department officials in a bid to fulfil their targets.

Other demands of the association include scrapping of the sales tax of Rs. 4,800 on the purchase of new chassis, releasing drivers involved in accidents after surety from vehicle owners had been obtained, and simplifying the penalties imposed on vehicles in the name of traffic regulations. The president of the Association, P. Gopal Naidu and its general secretary, M. V. Subba Rao were among those who called on the Chief Minister.

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