Dinesh Kamath's news 'Transporters’ Federation takes up various issues on its Diamond Jubilee'

Transporters’ Federation takes up various issues on its Diamond Jubilee

Soon, Action plan to end the mess of Traffic Jam on roads leading to JNPT  

Vows to tackle Road Safety issue on war footing

 By Dinesh Kamath

Above picture: Gautam Chatterjee - Principal Secretary (Transport), Govt. of Maharashtra inaugurating Diamond Jubilee Event of FBMTO

NAVI MUMBAI: Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of the apex body of transport fraternity in Mumbai - Federation of Bombay Motor Transport Operators (FBMTO) was a glittering event in Mumbai, which saw leading personalities  from across various strata of society participating in the event.

The event was based on the most important issues in vogue i.e. Road Safety and Environment and it was marked with various activities like deliberations, seminars, skits, audio-visual show to put across the message that the road transport fraternity is serious on these societal issues and is constructively engaging the sector and the government to contain adverse fallout from their unmitigated proliferation.

The key dignitaries like Shri Gautam Chatterjee- Principal Secretary (Transport), Govt. of Maharashtra, Shri Satej (Bunty) D. Patil, Ex-Minister (Home), Shri Bhim Wadhwa, President – AIMTC and others graced the occasion with their benign presence and motivated the mammoth audience with their inspirational thought that assembled from across the country at CIDCO Exhibition Centre, Navi  Mumbai.

As a marked change from the league, FBMTO Diamond Jubilee Celebrations were hi-tech and managed professionally. Kudos goes to Bal Malkit Singh, Chairman – Diamond Jubilee Celebrations Committee for conceptualizing and materializing the flawless flow of whole event. The illustrious journey of sixty years of FBMTO was elegantly showcased through the Documentary, which was the hall mark of the event.

On the basic theme of Road Safety and Environment Safety, Shri Daljit Singh Bal, President – FBMTO said that “the transport fraternity is very conscious of these two issues and more than anyone else, the trucking community is sensitized through various interventions and advocacy programs. Moreover the drivers are trained on pre-emptive maintenance and trucks undergo fitness test every year so that they conform to the emission norms. Tree plantation programs are also organized by the organization as their humble contribution to the society.”

Shri Bhim Wadhwa, President – All India Motor Transport Congress spoke about the imposition of impractical conditions on this sector on account of environmental issues. He said, “though there are number of pollution causing agents but truckers are being singled out. Rather than improving Quality of fuel, forestation on war-fooling, R&D for retro-fitment of engines or researching on emission absorbing equipments, the Government and others opt for surgical decisions targeting trucking sector only, which is highly deplorable.

The Transport fraternity demanded the Principle Secretary (Transport) to constitute a permanent coordination committee in the State, drawing officials from various departments like Home, Transport, Traffic, Finance, Urban Development, Ports etc. along with members from Transport Fraternity of Maharashtra and nominated by AIMTC so that the critical issues adversely affecting the trade could be resolved in a time bound fashion. The Principle Secretary agreed to constitute a committee in this regard and assured all his help to usher positive reforms in this sector.