Pune: The ongoing protests by truck and bus drivers at many places in Maharashtra have triggered panic-buying among two four-wheelers, prompting long queues outside petrol pumps.

A video released by ANI showed long queues at petrol pumps in Nagpur.

The news agency added that similar long queues were seen outside petrol pumps in Thane, Jalgaon, and Dhulia as people waited for their turns to fill the tankers of their vehicles, visuals showed. 

A protest by members of transport associations and truck and auto drivers was demonstrated on the Pune-Solapur national highway at Khadki in Daund talukam on Monday, disrupting traffic for over an hour.

Passengers were left disgruntled due to the lack of immediate response from authorities at the protest site.

This demonstration was part of a state-wide strike opposing the recently implemented law by the Centre. A similar protest was held on Mumbai-Ahemdabad Highway.

Protesters have expressed concerns about a provision in the new "Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita criminal code," which imposes a hefty Rs 7 lakh penalty and a 10-year jail term for hit-and-run cases.

However, drivers find this 'unrealistic' and argued that such stringent measures could lead to undue harassment for the drivers, especially considering the financial challenges many face in the country. They emphasized that the financial burden imposed by the law, stating that the hefty fine is unrealistic as many are already grappling with loans, high-interest rates, and increased fuel prices, which narrow profit margins in the transport business.