Agartala: Dec : A wave of protests swept through various states as drivers and truckers express their dissatisfaction with stringent ‘hit-and-run’ provision in the new penal law. People were seen queued up at petrol pumps across states including Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura fearing that the agitation may hit fuel supply in coming days.

The criminal code law, which repealed the British-era Indian Penal Code (IPC) provides up to 10 years of punishment for fleeing an accident spot and not reporting the incident.

Drivers staged an agitation at National Highway and stopped city buses and vehicles. Road blockades were seen in some places in the state due to protests by drivers. Long queues were witnessed at petrol pumps due to panic over fear of disrupted fuel supply in various cities.

In Indore, buses were parked on the road as part of the protest.On the protest by transport associations and drivers against the new law on hit-and-run cases, All Drivers Welfare Association President said, “Our only demand from the government is that the decision should have been taken after having consultations with our stakeholders. There was no discussion with anyone on this, and no one was asked about it…No protest has been announced by the members of All India Motor & Goods Transport Association…There should be a discussion on this issue. Protest can never lead to a solution. We believe that government will hold conversations with our members and take a call on this later”