NEW DELHI: The road transport ministry has suggested to the government to provide some insurance cover for truck drivers and helpers since they are also part of essential service provider. The government is likely to set up a 24X7 helpline number for truck drivers for help in case of any interruption on highways.TOI has learnt that the transport ministry has also suggested that a direction should issued to law enforcing agencies to allow truck drivers to move on after they check their driving licence. The government is considering the proposal of not seeking any pass from a driver of a goods truck and another person in the vehicle. The vehicles will be allowed to move unhindered whether it’s empty or loaded.Sources said all these issues were discussed on Monday at a meeting on meeting on inter-ministerial group dealing with logistics issues. They added that truck drivers and helpers are feeling scared of their future as they need to visit different areas to ensure that the consignments are picked up and unloaded.Recently, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced Rs 50 lakh medical insurance cover per person for healthcare workers, sanitation workers, paramadeics, doctors and nurses who are exposing themselves to the virus.“The government has been taking corrective steps since the lockdown was announced. But in some cases, these have not reached the ground and so we have problems of truck drivers being held up, unnecessarily detained. Drivers are ready to go to any part provided they don’t face any harassment,” said All India Transport Congress chief Kultaran Singh Atwal.Currently, there are about 80 lakh trucks in the country and nearly 13 lakh are National Permit (NP) ones. NP trucks run across states are. Different truckers associations had claimed that many drivers have abandoned their vehicles at dhabas or factory gates and now it's tough in many cases for drivers to reach the spot because of lockdown and with factories closed, the unloading is becoming a big issue.S P Singh of IFTRT, a think tank on transport issues said, “These welcome steps. However, everything hinges of the economic activities because of the prevailing situation. Factories are shut, warehouses are closed and distributors are not operating. So, how will there be generation of cargo? There are both supply and demand side issues. There is need for greater employment.”