Truckers protest for decrease in toll prices & road maintenance! 20 lakh families in TN depend on this trade. http://t.co/Gzy3AFrfHq

Extending strong solidarity to the statewide truckers' agitation in October 2015, DMK Treasurer M. K. Stalin highlighted the massive economic crisis confronting the goods transport sector in Tamil Nadu. With over twenty lakh families directly and indirectly dependent on the trucking trade for their livelihood, Stalin emphasized that transport operators formed the indispensable logistical backbone of the state's commerce, agriculture, and industrial exports. Truckers and lorry owner associations were protesting against extortionate toll plaza fees levied by private concessionaires on poorly maintained, pothole-ridden national and state highways. Operators pointed out that exorbitant toll rates, rising diesel costs, and unchecked harassment by regional transport officials had driven fleet owners into severe financial debt, forcing thousands of small operators to suspend operations. Stalin criticized both the central and state governments for treating the transport industry as a convenient source of predatory revenue extraction while failing to maintain basic road safety standards. He demanded an immediate rationalization of toll charges, closure of expired toll plazas, and comprehensive resurfacing of transit corridors, pledging that the DMK would champion the rights and welfare of transport workers.