Truckers in India Seek Insurance Cover for Staff Fearing Virus

(Bloomberg) -- India’s truckers have asked the government to provide insurance cover to their staff involved in transporting and delivering essential goods as the country locks down to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The government should provide a cover of 5 million rupees ($65,700) each to drivers, cleaners and loaders involved in ferrying goods, the All India Motor Transport Congress said in a statement. That will help retain the workers needed to ensure movement of goods during the lockdown, the association said.

“The staff in the trucking industry are risking their lives,” Naveen Gupta, secretary general at the industry body, said by phone. “There should be adequate social security to motivate them to continue offering their services.”

While several staff have gone back to their villages for the fear of the virus, police action to enforce the lockdown has scared others, Gupta said.

Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day lockdown last week, a large number of migrant laborers have left the country’s biggest cities including the capital New Delhi and the financial hub Mumbai for their homes in villages.

The federal home ministry issued revised guidelines on March 25 allowing movement of goods from one state to the other. Yet, the directions may not have trickled down in some places, impeding movement of trucks, according to the lobby group.

The lockdown has exacerbated the financial trouble of the transport industry, which was already bruised by the slowing economy, according to S.P. Singh, senior fellow at Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training.

Just about 30% of the country’s 5 million long-haul truck fleet is operating, compared with 60% prior to the lockdown, Singh said.

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