Kutch: The Samakhiali National Highway in Bhachau taluka has been witnessing a traffic jam since 10:30 am today, causing long queues of vehicles on both sides of the road. There is a 25-kilometre traffic jam on the National Highway, and stones were pelted at a government bus during a protest. One person was injured in the stone-pelting.

The protesters further vandalised the bus. Truck drivers in Kutch are protesting against a new Central Government law that mandates a ten-year sentence for drivers of goods vehicles involved in accidents.

An estimated 1000 truck drivers, under the auspices of the Truck Drivers Ekta Group, have taken to the highway near Samakhiyali check post against the central government’s provision of a 10-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5 to 10 lakh against truck drivers in accident cases. They are demanding a change in the law by the central government.

In the video that has surfaced in this matter, long queues of hundreds of vehicles have accumulated on both sides of the road due to the traffic jam made by the truck drivers on the six-lane highway. Truck drivers have come out in protest by barricading the road.

One protesting truck driver said, “A ten-year jail term has been announced against poor truck drivers if they flee from the scene of an accident, with a provision of Rs 5 to 10 lakhs for guilty drivers in such cases. Accidents are not intentional; therefore, it is impossible for drivers who earn 10 to 15 thousand to pay such a huge fine. There is a demand that the government should reconsider before making new accident laws.” DeshGujarat