It’s a poetic world but you hardly get to read them as you zoom across them. If you can make yourself stationary for some time on the highway, you can read some of their creation. One by one they will pass by you doing the catwalk, displaying their creation like a model. ‘Blow horn’, ‘Use DIAPER at nite’, ‘No girlfriend No tension’, ‘Keep your distance we aren’t carrying milk’, ‘No love No kiss only for marriage’, ‘Take poison but do not believe on girls’ and ‘Bibi rahe tip-top do ke baad full stop’, would be some of the creation you shall certainly come across. It is a different world but we avoid entering for reasons best known to us. Probably we cannot understand their creative side or we are scared as they can someday stand in front of us and demand recognition. Today I woke up in the morning to find two news articles on them – the truck drivers. Yes, you are thinking of closing the page, why would you read and waste your time on something so useless- the truck driver. I will insist that you read it, off course, you are not going to inaugurate a shopping mall today, and you have time.
The first headline was, DNLA militant’s gun down five truckers in Dima Hasao district and the other headline said Police seize Rs 25 Crores methamphetamine in Mizoram. Both the news was a contrast and had no similarity with each other yet I will try and draw your attention to the news. The Dimasa National Liberation Army (DNLA) waylaid a convoy of seven trucks, fired indiscriminately at them, and later set them on fire. The trucks were carrying industrial raw materials for a cement company, the company in a statement said, “Some of our partner vehicles carrying company materials were targeted by an extremist group, we are saddened to inform you that five drivers who were attack lost their lives and two were injured. We are committed to ensuring the safety of our employees and extend necessary support to our partners and associates.” The police believe it could have been a retaliatory attack by the group after six of its cadres were killed in an encounter in May last in the neighboring Karbi Anglong district. The news did not mention the name of the drivers or the place they hail from.
The second news article mentioned that in a joint operation, Mizoram police and officials of their sister agencies seized five lakh tablets of methamphetamine near Sairang village, about 27 KM west of Aizawl. Sources said the contraband valued around 25 Crores in the international market, was seized from the possession of a truck driver, Mantu Kumar Deb (45), and his helper, Subhas Das (33), both residents of karimganj district of Assam. The police said the CRX 1512 truck registration number NL-01-AE-0243, driven by Deb, was also seized. A criminal case under section 22(c)/29 of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, was registered at the Special Narcotics police station in Aizawl.
Two very contrasting cases indeed but I draw your attention to the fact that why did the reporter miss to report the name of the truck drivers killed? Was there some instruction from the police force? Will the guilty be ever brought in front of the court? Who will support their family? Is the company or government offering some compensation? These questions are troubling me and I am forced to ask myself who are these drivers. According to Save Life Foundation, an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization focused on improving road safety and emergency medical care across India reported that road crashes claim 1.35 million lives each year globally. However, the burden of road crash deaths remains disproportionately high among low and middle-income countries. India tops the world in road crash deaths. The situation is alarming because, in 2018 itself, road crashes claimed the lives of over 1.5 lakh people in the country. Out of this, over 15,000 road crash victims have been truck and lorry drivers. In terms of vehicle category, trucks and Lorries are involved in over 57,000 crashes. Other additional factors like overloading and load protrusion increase the exposure to risk for other road users. Despite being a serious traffic offense, the overloading of trucks has contributed to 12% of total road crash deaths.
Truck drivers form the backbone of the logistics sector. They are the most important stakeholder in ensuring smooth transportation of goods over long distances, yet remain vulnerable due to the fragmented and informal nature of the trucking industry. This study reveals that more than half of the respondent truck drivers are dissatisfied with their profession. 84% of the respondents said they will not recommend trucking to their family members or relatives. Two-third of the drivers feel the profession is unattractive due to the lack of security and safety on the road. 53% of the drivers earn between INR 10,000 to INR 20,000 per month. Their living conditions are abysmal with no standardization in wages, lack of social security, and incentives to complete a trip on time. Most drivers do not own their vehicles. They often suffer from driver fatigue due to long working hours. On average, each driver drives for about 11.9 hours in a day. In terms of average distance covered, a truck driver covers about 417 km daily. 49% of the respondent drivers said they drive vehicles even if they are feeling fatigued or sleepy. The study reveals that truck drivers suffer from various health issues like backaches, joint/muscle pain, and gastrointestinal problems. 95% of respondents said they eat roadside Dhaba food. Overall, more than two-thirds (67.1%) of respondents’ truck drivers stated that they are overburdened with assignments, and thus resort to speeding to deliver their assignments on time. 9 out of 10 drivers did not undergo any formal training before getting a driving license. Exploitation and corruption by enforcement authorities clubbed with the poor condition of road infrastructure makes truck driving a challenging profession. One of the most important objectives of the study has been to quantify corruption in the trucking industry. The study estimates Rs.47, 852.28 Crores per year as the bribe amount in the trucking business at present. Through this study, they aimed to shed light on the status of truck drivers in India and hope to offer relevant recommendations that will make their lives better and safer.
I am sure the DNLA militant did not know the drivers personally. The target was the easiest for them. If Army or the police force is for the protection of the nation and its citizens, the truck drivers are the connecting lines of the nation. The government has improvised many a scheme for the farmers and others but none has been for the truck drivers. They play a great role in supporting the Army and the defense personal but they have never been given any medal. They are offered slang at every check gate and police checkpoint. Have you ever thought about what would happen to our country if these people sit in protest like the farmers? It is very easy to arrest the driver and helper but has the agency ever caught the kingpin? Why would someone drive a truck if he had 25 Crores? These questions will not let me sleep and they should do the same to you. Don’t you think it is the time when we give our assurance to these people that we stand by them? Is it not the time when the country recognizes the role these people play in running our economy. Please give it a thought.
