Indian truckers' strike adds to economic woes

As many as five million Indian truckers plan to go on strike tomorrow to protest against a surge in fuel prices and a claim for trillions of rupees in tax arrears. The action threatens to cripple the subcontinent's transport network at a time when India is struggling to maintain the stellar economic growth achieved in recent years. The often chronically overloaded trucks that travel the pot-holed highways carry more than half the country's freight. The truckers' protests come as a further blow to India's beleaguered government, which is already facing a chorus of discontent from the rural poor and the newly prosperous urban middle class, both of which are being hit hard by fuel and food price rises. Last month, the government admitted defeat in its battle to shield the public from record high oil markets when it raised... [read full story]