SAD promises to restore truck unions in Punjab

Sukhbir made this statement while inducting Punjab Transport Ekta Union President Rajinder Singh Raju into the party from the Congress

Chandigarh

The SAD chief said the present system, of abolishing truck unions, started by the Congress government had created syndicates.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal announced on Sunday that the SAD-BSP alliance would restore truck unions if it wins the upcoming assembly elections in the state. The Congress government had abolished truck unions in the state.

Sukhbir made this statement while inducting Punjab Transport Ekta Union President Rajinder Singh Raju into the party from the Congress. Raju has been appointed senior vice-president of the party’s transport wing. Former Akali MP Prem Singh Chandumajra was also present.

The SAD chief said the present system, of abolishing truck unions, started by the Congress government had created syndicates. “After restoring truck unions, we will form committees to fix genuine rates to ensure that the interests of the trucking community as well as the trade and industry are safeguarded,” he said. He also promised to provide annual stickers to truckers to ensure they were not stopped by anyone on the road.

SAD transport wing president Pararmjit Singh Fazilka and Gurbinder Singh Binder Manila were also present on the occasion. The SAD, in a press release, said that several leaders of the Congress, AAP and the BJP from Sunam, Ghanour and Khanna also joined the party.

38 buses impounded

The Punjab transport department has impounded 38 buses in eight districts and challaned one bus as part of its campaign to check tax evasion, incomplete documentation and plying of buses on illegal permits by private bus operators. While five buses violating transport norms were impounded in Gurdaspur, RTA Ferozepur impounded four buses. Similarly, buses were impounded in Muktsar, Amritsar, Hoshiarpur and Bathinda districts.