Truck drivers strike against new hit-and-run rule, causing long queues on petrol pumps

The recently-made amendment in jail terms and penalties in a hit-and-run case has led to a nationwide strike from truck drivers. 

Resultantly, massive queues are now visible on petrol pumps across the nation.

With petrol bunks turning away motorists in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, vehicle owners have started panic buying fuel for their vehicles.

Well, the penalties for the hit-and-run cases are revised making for stringent provisions for road users. Truckers have announced a nationwide strike against the decision.

Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which is set to replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, drivers who cause serious road accidents due to negligent driving and run away without informing police or the administration face up to 10 years in prison or a fine of Rs 7 lakh.

Truckers in several states launched a protest against the stringent provision.

There are massive queues at petrol pumps across the nation. 

The strike has triggered panic-buying and vehicle owners are trying their best to hoard fuel.

Videos posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) reveal that violence erupted at various fuel bunks to fill tanks faster.

The effect of the strike isn’t limited to just plains. The J-K fuel station owner’s association has revealed over 90 per cent of their bunks are already gone dry, and the remaining stock could end soon, as nearly 1,500 tankers carrying fuel to the UT and Ladakh are participating in the strike.