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The indefinite strike launched by the Bihar Motor Transport Federation all over the state entered its second day on Friday with no sign of an end to the deadlock.
Over 100,000 commercial vehicles in Bihar have gone off the roads indefinitely since Thursday, August 1, to protest against the new road taxes imposed by the state government.
Trains and government-run buses were the only means of transport available for the stranded public.
The Harding Road bus stand in the capital Patna and the surrounding areas remained devoid of any private transport. The only vehicles seen there were government buses.
A large number of trucks carrying perishable items are stranded on the outskirts of the city for the last two days. Reports indicate that normal life in other parts of the state too has been badly affected by the strike.
The strike has spelt doom for thousands of children in private English-medium schools who were dependent on private buses and autorickshaws. Attendance at the few schools that remained open was thin with no alternative arrangements for the students.
The state government is refusing to budge from its decision to impose new road taxes on commercial vehicles in the state. Transport Minister Awadh Bihari Chaudhary termed the strike illegal in view of the floods in different parts of the state. He threatened to take action against owners of commercial vehicles under the National Security Act if they indulge in disruptive activities.
Ironically, before the strike began, Chief Minister Rabri Devi too had threatened to take action against the BMTF under the Essential Services Maintenance Act and cancel the licences of its members.
The transport minister said that with the enhanced rate of taxes, the government would earn Rs 60 crore per annum over and above the present Rs 120 crore. Ten per cent of the burden imposed by the increased tax is to be passed on to passengers. Chaudhary added that the transporters were simply spreading misleading information.
BMTF vice-president Uma Shankar Prasad said that over 125,000 commercial vehicles -- buses, trucks, autorickshaws, and jeeps -- went off the road to protest against the tax hike that came into effect on July 16 following an amendment to the Bihar Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1994.
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