Over 90,000 truck operators had participated in protests. (Representational Image)
Truck operators in Punjab today staged protests across the state and burnt copies of a government notification on disbanding truck unions.
The truck operators held demonstrations to put pressure on the state government to rollback its move of disbanding 134 truck unions in the state.
Over 90,000 truck operators participated in protests held in front of all sub-divisional headquarters in the state, said All Punjab Truck Operator's Union, President Happy Sandhu.
"The state government which often talked of giving employment to youth has rendered small truck operators jobless by disbanding truck unions in the state.
With this move, not only truck operators, all those who run tempos and other small commercial vehicles will be hit," said Mr Sandhu.
Truck operators have been protesting against the recent decision of the Punjab cabinet to disband truck unions and end the cartelisation of goods transport.
Punjab government had last month approved the Punjab Goods Carriages (Regulation and Prevention of Cartelisation Rules), 2017, which bars goods carriage operators from forming cartels or unions in the state.
Truck operators claimed that because of the abolition of truck unions, small truck operators would suffer the most as the big companies would take over the trucking business, posing serious threat to the survival of small truck owners.
A man identified as Mahinder Singh set his truck on fire at Bathinda, police said adding that the protest by truckers in other parts of the state remained peaceful.