Hyderabad: About 3,500 fuel tankers and over 2,000 LPG cylinder transport trucks remained off road in Telangana on Monday, demanding that the government withdraw the 14.5 percent value added tax (VAT) on transportation of the fuels.
The strike started at midnight on Sunday.
The Andhra Pradesh Petroleum Tankers’ Owners Association pledged its support to the strike and decided against sending vehicles to Telangana till the issue is resolved.
Petrol bunks and gas agencies worked normally on Monday but, the dealers’ association said the filling stations will soon start exhausting the stocks.
The Telangana government, which held several rounds of talks with representatives of truckers’ association till Sunday evening failed to persuade them to defer the strike for a few days.
A fresh round of talks is likely to take place on Tuesday, as officials of the commercial taxes department are working on a variety of suggestions to resolve the crisis.
Telangana State Petroleum Tank Trucks Association president K. Rajasekhara Reddy made it clear that withdrawal of the 14.5 percent VAT on fuel transportation is the only solution and that no other formula is acceptable to it.