Saluru and Parvatipuram towns, once major transport hubs in the North Andhra, are witnessing a steady decline in their prominence due to the rising fuel prices, high cost of new vehicles, and insufficient transport bookings.

Saluru town in Parvatipuram-Manyam district for the last six decades has been known for its thriving lorry industry. Earlier, at any given point of time one would see at least 2,500 lorries in the town. However, the number has dropped to 600 presently. Many lorry owners are selling their vehicles at throw away prices as they are unable to generate enough income to cover the salaries of the drivers and their livelihood. A similar situation is seen in the Parvatipuram town. Lorry owners charge ₹8 to ₹10 per kilometre as transport charges. They cannot hike the rates due to tough competition for others in the business.

Adding to the strain is the increase in fuel prices of ₹3.9 per litre in two phases in the last one week.

Speaking to The Hindu, Parvatipuram Vasavi Lorry Owners Association president Gorle Venkata Ramana has asked the government to revive ‘oil pool accounts’ to mitigate the transport sector whenever there is fluctuation in crude oil prices. He said: “The then Atal Bihari Vajpayee government removed ‘oil pool account’ in April, 2022. Earlier, the government used to avoid burdening the transport sector with the adjustment of the money from the oil pool account which used to have a buffer amount of ₹5,000 crore.

Former deputy chief minister and former MLA of Saluru Peedika Rajanna Dora have appealed to the government to announce a bailout package for the lorry industry, which provides livelihood to thousands of people directly and indirectly. He asked the State government to reduce local taxes on petrol and diesel to provide relief to the transport sector. He highlighted that the fuel prices were lower in Odisha and other States compared to Andhra Pradesh.