text: Punjab truckers set truck on fire to oppose ban on unions – Canindia News
  Chandigarh, Aug 2 (IANS) Taking their protest against the Punjab government's move to ban truck unions to the next level, a group of truckers on Wednesday set a goods carrier on fire in Punjab's Nakodar town, 160 km from here.
  "We have been pleading with the government for the past one month to review its decision as it has affected truckers and lakhs of people associated with the trade. We will further intensify our agitation if the government does not listen to us," a member of the truck union said.
  "Of the 93,000 trucks, nearly 70,000 have been financed (are under loans). The government ban on truck unions has taken away our livelihood. We will set more trucks on fire and are ready to sacrifice our families," he said.
  Following the state cabinet's decision last month, approving rules that will ban the formation of truck unions and cartels, nearly 93,000 trucks remained off the roads in Punjab on July 9.
  "The move is aimed at destroying the mafia of goods transporters who had cartelized the business over the past several years, obstructing the free and fair movement of goods transport, thereby also impacting industrial development of the state," the spokesperson said.