Trucker's strike called off, demands accepted

Truck owners called off their nationwide strike early on Friday after the government agreed to lower service tax and provide unbranded diesel. "We have called off our strike since the government has assured us that our demands will be met. All our issues regarding service tax have been resolved," said Charan Singh Lohara, president of the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), an apex body of truck owners. The AIMTC claims to represent nearly 4.8 million truck and two million mini-truck operators. The truckers were demanding a roll-back of hike in toll tax, honouring of the service tax agreement of 2004 and availability of non-branded diesel and removal of speed governors on highways. The AIMTC began the strike after talks with the government failed on Tuesday night. Several rounds of talks on Wednesday also remained... [read full story]