Truck drivers in India who had gone off the roads from 1 January called off their strike late on 2 January, after the government assured them that it would consult with the All India Motor Transport Congress.
Truck drivers were protesting a new law which imposes stricter punishments in hit-and-run cases.
Oil tankers usually carry fuels from refineries and depots to retail fuel stations. The strike affected the transport and distribution of transport fuels, leading to disruptions in fuel supplies and long queues at fuel stations.
"The government wants to point out that these new laws and provisions have not yet come into force...the decision to invoke Section 106(2) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita will be taken only after consultation with the All India Motor Transport Congress," the government said in a release on 2 January.
In spite of the constraints, oil marketing companies have worked out local solutions and resolved issues over availability of aviation fuel, oil and gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri said today.
Under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, which will replace the Indian Penal Code, drivers who cause serious road accidents because of negligent driving and flee without informing authorities can face up to 10 years' imprisonment or a penalty of 700,000 rupees ($8,402). The new law has received presidential assent, but the central government has yet to announce when it will come into force.
The government has asked the truckers to return to work, but some are still wary that the new law is too harsh, secretary general of the All India Motor Transport Congress Naveen Kumar Gupta said.
Many fuel stations in the Indian states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar were closed on 2 January.
India's gasoline consumption was at 881,000 b/d in November, up by 3pc from October and by 9pc from November 2022, oil ministry data show. Diesel consumption rose by 2pc from October to 1.87mn b/d in November but fell by 3pc from November 2022.
