Collector Anil Mukim at a meeting held on Thursday with senior officials of various departments -- including the police and the regional transport office -- chalked out various plans to see that essential services including transportation of milk, vegetables and fuels were not hampered. According to an official spokesman, police protection for vehicles requisitioned for the purpose has also been sought.

The spokesman said while a temporary transport strike control room would be set up to supervise the alternative transport arrangements, a large number of vehicles have been requisitioned from oil companies, including Gujarat Refinery, GSRTC, Roads and Building department, RTO and other official agencies, to supply commodities. District Supply Officer Ashok Singh has been appointed the co-ordinator, he said.

He said elaborate arrangements were being made to transport essential commodities on 44 rural and 74 city routes.

Senior officials of Gujarat Refinery, Baroda Dairy, Deputy Commissioner of Police Meera Verma, GSRTC Divisional Director P M Patel, RTO Devendra Makwana, DSO Ashok Singh, Deputy Collector C R Kharsan, among others attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, an All-India Motor Transport Congress statement said that all the commercial vehicles, all over the country, would keep off the roads from Saturday midnight to protest against the ``Non-performance of the Tariff Advisory Committee in compliance to the agreement signed between the Union government and the Congress last year.''