Trucks are the lifeline of Indian economy. There are many sectors that are functional only because of truck networks. Have you ever thought while seeing a truck on the road that it might be carrying essential medical supplies for the ill and could be a life-saver for many?
Yes, thoughts like these rarely pass by us because trucks and truck drivers are the victims of a certain specific image in the country.
India, with the expected growth rate of about 7.3% in the year 2018-19, has an approximate fleet strength of over 8.5 million trucks, transporting goods across the length and breadth of the country.
Can India survive without truck drivers? One can imagine the magnitude of the problem, if the truck drivers across the country, one fine day, decide to not to drive anymore. Life will come to a halt. If you don’t believe us, just read on. We are taking you on a walkthrough on what will change if India is without truck drivers.
As you will finish reading, we will leave it to you to decide whether we could make our point or not.
Economic blockade
Trucking has a huge impact on the Indian economy. Everyday goods worth several million rupees are transported by truck. They take all sorts of goods, vegetables, medicines, construction material, furniture, etc from one destination to the other.
Several industries and manufacturing plants would not be able to access raw materials and hence manufacturing will come to a complete halt. Moreover, there would also be plants which would have to keep the stock of ready goods hoarded with them, as there would be no trucks to transport them to their destination.
Several states of India depend on their produce to earn for the government and the residents. For instance, without trucks, who will transport coconuts from Bangalore, food grains from Uttar Pradesh, Jute from West Bengal, pulses from Madhya Pradesh, tea from Assam and artifacts from the talented artisans from all across the country. In this standoff, millions of artisans, labors and business owners will lose their income.
Life without consumable goods
Trucks carry fresh vegetables, milk and fruits to the city. The retail stores near you and manufacturers would run out of the stock in as many as three days. Because these goods are consumed fresh and hence require a daily and just-in-time supply. In the absence of truckers, all these products and supplies would be gone.
Not just fresh supplies, the nation’s food supply would also be gradually depleted. With the condition of food shortage, mass hunger and fear among the public would worsen the problem. Panic-stricken people would start purchasing in bulk and hoarding the food, resulting in civil unrest in the country.
Moreover, people will not have clean and safe drinking water as the supplies will be impacted within four weeks of time. In a normal scenario, trucks typically deliver cleaning chemicals to water treatment plants every fortnight. Without chemicals, water would be unsafe to drink and there will be no trucks to transport the water.
Medical mayhem
The shutdown of the trucking industry will have a significant impact on the healthcare situation of the country. The medical professionals need medical supplies on a regular basis to provide treatment to the patients. Without the availability of trucks, the hospitals and clinics would not have access to medicines and other crucial medical supplies.
Also, in this scenario, the doctors will not be able to provide the essential treatment to the patients. Many hospitals do not keep a huge stock of medicines and order for medicines, just in time. The pharmacies in the country receive the supply of goods and drugs on a daily basis. Without trucks to deliver these products, there will be cruel unrest in the country, when the patients will get the desired treatment on time.
Environmental hazard
India generates estimated 1,00,000 metric tonne of waste per day. It wouldn’t take long for our cities to be buried deep in trash, if truck drivers wouldn’t be on the roads to take the waste to dump sites. Moreover, the waste treatment facilities would not be able to function properly in the absence of proper equipment.
Not only municipal garbage, but hazardous materials, such as raw materials from factories will also start piling up on the streets. This would certainly lead to accumulation of toxins and spread of infectious disease across the world. So, could our cities survive in such conditions? Probably not.
Points to ponder
The day without trucks on the roads sounds nothing less than a horror story. This imagination of a world without trucks gives us the clear depiction of the direct effects of a blockade in many commercial sectors and day-to-day life.
Moreover, the ripple effect of a trucker shutdown could also cause disturbed law and order situation, increase in robberies and crime, no access to essential goods, higher death rates due to lack of proper treatment and as a result, civil unrest.
In a nutshell, there is no denying the fact that when trucks will stop running on the roads of Indian cities, a countdown will begin for all the normal and essential functions of the country to come to a sudden halt, which would dramatically change the way we are used to live our lives.
Trukky believes in trukking
At Trukky, we believe in trucking and understand the importance of responsible trucking. We believe that trucks run the economy and can make our country an economically growing, healthy, clean and better place to live.
We are sure that this countdown will provide some appreciation for truck drivers, who have been struggling to find a decent standing in our society. Without their dedicated efforts to serve the society, our country cannot grow.
It’s time to pat the back of the truck drivers and tell them that they are doing a very important service to the country.
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