TV9 Bharatvarsh, in association with Continental Tires and Maruti Suzuki Commercial, organised the Leaders of Road Transport (LORT) Awards 2022 on June 23, celebrating the wheels of the nation i.e. the road transport sector.

Road transport is not just an economical and preferred sector for goods and passenger transportation, it is also responsible for more than 87 per cent of the country’s passenger traffic and 60 per cent of freight traffic. However, despite the crucial role it plays in the movement of goods and people, its contribution to the economy goes largely unsung. TV9 Bharatvarsh has consistently and continuously acknowledged the efforts of the road transport sector and the people who run this industry.

Even in the times of the coronavirus pandemic, TV9 Network vaccinated more than 17,000 truck drivers of 25 transportation hubs in 15 cities through initiatives like Suraksha Bandhan and Highway Heroes.

At the Leaders of Road Transport Awards 2022, TV9 Bharatvarsh honoured the people who are bridging the gap between you and us with their trucks and buses. These are the people who are responsible for safer, cheaper, and better door-to-door connectivity. At this TV9 Bharatvarsh event, Minister of State for Food and Public Distribution and Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ashwini Kumar Choubey encouraged and honoured the people working in the road transport sector.

The Minister also shared this information on Twitter and appreciated the vital role of this sector in the pandemic period. Mr Choubey congratulated the awardees and TV9 Bharatvarsh’s team for the campaign to vaccinate truck and bus drivers in the transport sector during the Pandemic. “Today, we have assembled to honor and recognize the leaders of road transport, organized by TV9 Network. During the COVID times, this sector played a pivotal role to supply vaccines and food distribution to the entire nation. Heartiest congratulations to all the winners,” Choubey said.

TV9 Bharatvarsh recognised and rewarded the efforts of nearly 50 transport companies and their promoters together with Continental Tires and Maruti Suzuki Commercial.

On the Leaders of Road Transport Awards, Raktim Das, Chief Growth Officer, TV9 Network (Digital & Broadcasting) said post the event: “Heartiest congratulations to all the winners. We are extremely happy to be able to recognize and reward these unsung heroes who have made last mile connectivity a possibility, in spite of innumerable challenges faced by the sector. When the entire country was in the lockdown, these brave-hearts moved the nation forward with their unstinted commitment and dedication towards service to the nation.”

On the participation in the awards, Samir Gupta, Managing Director, India and Head of Central Asia Region, Continental Tires said: “We are happy to partner with TV9 Network to recognise the businesses and business leaders of the Indian road transport industry. India is one of the largest automotive markets globally and is a very important market for Continental.

Continental has always worked towards empowering fleets with quality and innovative solutions to increase their profitability.”

Awards were distributed in categories like Women Entrepreneurs, Young Business Leader and All India Company of the Year. These awards were divided into four main segments based on fleet size. Mann Tourist Services won the Leader of Road Transport – Commercial Passenger Vehicle award in the fleet size of more than 75 vehicles, and Agarwal Packers and Movers for the All India Company of the Year in the fleet size of more than 300 vehicles.

Shashank Srivastava, Senior ED, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, said: “In a short span of a few years, Maruti has been a huge success in the commercial transport segment with around 22% market share. We are very happy to partner TV9 in this felicitation ceremony to acknowledge and reward the contributions of these individuals and businesses who have contributed to our success in this category.”

The awards were given out to the winners by the hon’ble minister, Samir Gupta, MD, Continental Tires, Kalina Dalibor, Head of Business Area Replacement Tires APAC, Continental Tires and Shashank Srivastava, Senior ED, Maruti Suzuki Commercial; in presence of the key representatives from TV9 including Amit Tripathi, CRO, TV9 Network, Continental Tires and Maruti Suzuki Commercial, in front of an august gathering comprising the who’s who of the transport industry.