MUMBAI // Tens of thousands of truckers stayed off the roads today after talks with Indian officials to cut taxes and diesel prices broke down, threatening to push up prices of food and commodities across the country.
"We are on an indefinite strike until our demands are met," said Charan Singh Lohara, the president of the All India Motor Transport Congress, which says it represents six million lorries across the country.
"The government is giving concessions and bailout packages to so many industries. Why not us, when we are struggling to repay loans with high fuel prices, high prices of tyres and numerous taxes," he said.
More than 70 per cent of freight in India moves by road, and truckers had benefited from a booming economy that required the transport of steel and cement, as well as an improving network of highways that encouraged demand for lorries.
But the country's 200,000 transport companies have been hit in recent months by a slowing economy, higher interest rates on vehicle loans and greater competition from the railways.
Sales of lorries and buses at Tata Motors, India's top vehicle maker, fell by more than half in December from a year ago.
"How can we compete when our costs are so high," Mr Lohara said.
India cut prices of petrol and diesel on Dec 8 after crude oil tumbled, but the economy, Asia's third largest, has shown palpable signs of slowing amid a global financial crisis, after growing at nine per cent or more in the past three years.
Economists and government advisers expect expansion to moderate to about seven per cent this fiscal year to March 31.
Talks with the government would continue, Mr Lohara said, but a prolonged strike could nudge up prices of fruits and vegetables and disrupt supplies of other commodities.
A three-day trucker's strike last July calling for lower road tolls and cheap diesel had pushed up prices of produce.
Big retailers stocked up and made arrangements with their own fleets to ensure supplies were not hit, said Rajan Malhotra, the chief executive of Big Bazaar in Mumbai.
"We are well-stocked for the next 3-4 days, but if the strike drags on beyond that, then we will face shortages," he said.
*Reuters
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Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
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Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE
Sector: Online rental marketplace
Size: 40 employees
Investment: $2 million
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
Prophets of Rage
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