They demanded that the government release part of the promised Rs 5 lakh to each driver before Ganesh Chaturthi.
Speaking to the media, Vishnu Sawant who drives a truck said that while former chief minister Manohar Parrikar had said he would resolve the issue.
“Parrikar had promised us help but he hasn’t and neither has the current CM. We had approached our local MLA Pramod Sawant too but nothing has been done. If our demands are not met by September 4, we will intensify our andolan,” he said.
Backing the cause of the drivers, Shiv Sena local unit president Ajit Singh Rane said that while mine owners were being let off with most of the money it is the small people like the truck drivers who are suffering.
“Before September 4, half the amount should reach these drivers. These are the people who’ve built the sector from what it used to be, but are not being given their dues,” he said.
He also said that though CM Laxmikant Parsekar had announced in the Legislative Assembly that Rs 102 crore was being released to the workers, the money was going to truck owners and not the drivers.
“This amount that the CM talks of is only being given to some truck owners. Owners and drivers are two very different persons and in many cases the money doesn’t reach the truck drivers,” said Rane.
The almost 1,000 truck drivers said they would take the next step if their demands were not met by September 4.
