Guwahati, Jan 5: The 48-hour strike called by a consortium of transporters’ unions against the implementation of a “stringent hit-and-run law” under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, affected normal life in Assam on Friday even as the Assam Motor Worker Associations’ Joint Platform decided to reduce the strike by 24 hours.
The decision to reduce the hours of the strike was taken after a marathon meeting between the representatives of the associations and the Assam transport department here and an assurance from the department that the demands of the motor workers and transporters’ unions would be taken up at the “highest level in the government”.
Notably, under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, a driver who runs away without informing the police or administration after road mishaps caused by negligent driving, could face a prison term of up to 10 years and pay a fine of Rs 7 lakh.
A memorandum against the law under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was also submitted by the motor worker associations to the Assam transport commissioner for the same to be forwarded to the central government.
“We have decided to reduce the strike called against this stringent law by 24 hours. So, accordingly all our members will resume work from 5am tomorrow. The decision has been taken after the transport department assured that our issues would be taken up at the highest level. Besides, we also took into account the inconvenience of commuters following the cease work and halt to transport services,” an office-bearer of the joint platform of state motor workers associations informed.
Another member of the joint platform of state motor workers’ associations said that due consideration was also given in the wake of a statement from the home department that transporters and motor workers unions across the country would be consulted before such a law was to come into effect.
Meanwhile, normal life in the state was crippled, with commercial vehicles, including app-based cab services, inter-city buses and day-night super buses between Guwahati and the other parts of the state and other northeastern states going off the roads from 5am to 5pm on Friday.