Bring back the Migrant Driver

We have heard of cases where truck drivers have abandoned their vehicles on the highways and returned to their hometowns to seek protection from the deadly virus as also find food and shelter. As a result, the road transportation sector has almost come to a standstill. But it’s time to coax them to return and keep the supply chain going, says Raghuram Sharma

- Raghuram Sharma

US President Abraham Lincoln once said, “We hope all danger may be overcome but to conclude that no danger may ever arise would itself be extremely dangerous.” A lingering doubt in every transporter’s mind at the moment is would he or wouldn’t he return to work? Is it a self-declared sabbatical leave? If that is the case, how long will this absence last – days or months? What will be the effect on business? Can the industry do without him? Yes, I am talking about the most vital link of the transport industry – the driver. This sword of Damocles is dangling over everyone’s head.

The pandemic has left the migrant driver as well as the transport industry more than puzzled. Let us talk about the imminent victim first. He neither has any work to sustain himself nor the solace of his family. Over and above is the presence of an all-pervading deadly virus. Caught in such a viscous trap, one is but natural to get dismayed, disgruntled and petrified at the drop of a hat. It applies even more to those who don’t have a proper footing in society. For our highway drivers who were oblivious of the impending catastrophe since initially they were in a state of ‘devil may care’ attitude, ground realities struck when there were no eateries on the long roads and no repair shops.