SEPTEMBER 12: Trucks, buses and tempos all over the state are set to go off the roads from midnight on Sunday, in the third indefinite transport strike in a little over a year. Leaders of transport unions are to go into another meeting with the state chief secretary on Wednesday as the state government tries to avert the possibility of the strike.The Maharashtra Rajya Truck Tempo Bus Vahatuk Mahasangh will present a long list of demands to the state government, their two main issues remaining the anti-pollution drive being conducted by the state Motor Vehicles Department and the issue of toll collection.State Transport Minister Shivajirao Moghe termed the demand for revision of toll tax, which has been in force for nearly a year, as unreasonable but said that there could be some discussion on the anti-pollution drive. ``But here we are only following the directives of the high court,'' he said, ruling out the possibility of the state government appealing in the HC on behalf of the transporters.While transport unions are miffed with the state government for failing to present their case before the HC, the real issue, however, is the Motor Vehicles Department's anti-pollution drive and spot fines of Rs 1,000 against polluting vehicles.``We are all for the PUC drive, but the MVD is not only charging such fines in Mumbai as has been laid down by the high court, but also all over the state,'' says mahasangh President Mohinder Singh Ghura. ``There are several reasons for pollution including bad roads and adulterated petrol, but we are being blamed for everything.''Transport unions had earlier gone on a day-long token strike on August 22 warning the government of the big one around the corner. ``We are fed up, a majority of these demands have been pending with the state government over the last five years, every time there is a change in government there are fresh discussions,'' says Ghura.Moghe says the state government is fully prepared to tackle the indefinite strike. Transport Department officials say there have been so many strikes in the past year that a plan of action is always ready as is the core committee headed by the transport secretary.Other issues being raised by transporters include the high sales tax on petrol and diesel, which are among the highest in the country. ``We are being taxed three-fold, we are not only paying the motor vehicle taxes and the cess on fuel but also toll,'' says Ghura.
