Transporters on Wednesday raise the red flag with the state government, stating that they had not recovered from last year’s losses and the new restrictions were literally killing their industry. They said they expect demand for lorries to go down by nearly 50 per cent.

“Curfew and prohibition on shops has led to subdued business and as per our estimate, demand for trucks will soon go down as much as 50 per cent. The road transport sector has not yet recovered from 2020 lockdown, and the fresh one has triggered another setback. The shops are closed except those dealing in essential items. The total weekend lockdown and prohibitory orders under CrPC 144 with night curfew will further subdue the demand and consumption,” Bal Malkit Singh, chairman, core committee and former president of the All-India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC)