By Prensa Latina,
New Delhi : Nearly 5 million truck drivers began a strike in India in protest of high fuel prices, tolls and slow government demands for back taxes.
Television showed images of hundred of trucks stopped in several cities after negotiations between the Truckers Road Congress in India and the government were brought to standstill, after beginning Wednesday morning.
The talks were brought to a halt when the road transportation minister T R. Baalu told union leaders that is impossible to revert the toll increases.
The minister admitted that it is really very high but is a decision approved by the Parliament last February, cited by PTI local news agency
Nevertheless, Baalu said he is holding talks with the Oil and Natural Gas Ministry over the truckers’ demand of reducing taxes on diesel fuel and is waiting for a response soon.
The strike, affecting the national transportation and goods distribution network represents another task for the state, with the economy already affected by increasing inflation.