Truckers across India joined a nationwide strike against a new law imposing harsher punishment for hit-and-run offenses, leading to delays in the supply of goods and sparking fuel shortage fears.

Long queues outside petrol pumps in the states of Punjab and Madhya Pradesh were shown on TV news channels January 2, as people rushed to fill their tanks expecting fuel to run out. Pumps in the territory of Chandigarh restricted supplies as a precautionary measure, according to a statement by the local administration. Executives at India’s state-owned fuel retailers, who didn’t wish to be named as they aren’t authorized to speak to the media, told Bloomberg that the shortages were due to panic buying rather than supply chain disruptions.

Anantdeep Singh, a member of the All India Motor Transport Congress union and owner of the company Nav Bharat Goods Carriers, echoed the executives’ view. Since fuel is carried by heavy vehicles whose drivers may go on strike, there is panic buying because of the expectation of a shortage, he said.

The firm, which operates 80 trucks carrying a range of goods including medicines, stationery and pesticides, is already experiencing a loss of revenue, Singh said. AIMTC estimates the loss of trade due to the ongoing strike is about 1 billion rupees ($12 million) per day, he added.

#TruckDriversProtest | Long Queues At Petrol Pumps As Protests Cause Panic Buying
 
Read Here: https://t.co/PZaOc7FUBU pic.twitter.com/jGIb08ssAY

— NDTV (@ndtv) January 2, 2024

The truckers, which according to government data carry 70% of India’s domestic freight, launched the strike on January 1 in protest against the newly enacted criminal law which extends the jail term for hit-and-run cases to a maximum of 10 years, from two at present.

Spokespeople at state-owned and private fuel retailers didn’t immediately reply to phone calls. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways didn’t respond to request for comment.