Telangana: Strike by petrol tankers called off
Hyderabad: The indefinite strike by the petrol tankers? association was called off on Monday within hours after being announced.
The association claimed that the Telangana government had agreed to their demand of waiving 14.5 per cent VAT and had invited them for talks on Tuesday to make an official announcement in this regard.
About 3,500 fuel tankers and over 2,000 LPG cylinder transport trucks had remained off the roads from Sunday midnight demanding that the government withdraw the 14.5 per cent VAT. The tankers, however, resumed normal operations from Monday evening.
Though petrol pumps had the required stocks to meet demand for the next two days, the strike call triggered panic buying across the state on Monday, leading to shortage of stocks at some petrol pumps.
The government took up initiatives to minimize the impact of the strike by ensuring supply of petrol and diesel to pumps through tankers owned by petroleum dealers by providing police security.