The Hindu : Oil tankers will keep off road on Monday

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 11, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Oil tankers will keep off road on Monday

CHENNAI, JAN. 10. Tanker-lorries transporting automobile fuels from oil terminals to petrol pumps will go off the road on Monday in the State protesting the new rate at which the oil companies plan to finalise the next transport contract.

Various tank lorry owners associations will extend support to the "indefinite strike" by the petroleum dealers using their own tanker-lorries, according to M. Kannan, president of the Tamil Nadu Petroleum Dealers Association.

The practice in the oil industry is to float a tender for a two-year contract calling for bids from the transporters, including owners and contractors of the tanker-lorries. The recent tender of the national oil companies, namely Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, is for fixing the rate from November 2003 onwards.

Many of the petroleum dealers own tanker-lorries and use them for bringing the products. A few of them share a vehicle for getting the supply, while others get the products — petrol and diesel — through the contract vehicles. The oil companies reimburse the dealers the transportation cost based on the rates decided in the tender.

Noting that the proposed contract rate - presumably based on the lowest quote in the tender - "is far below the actual cost incurred by us," Mr. Kannan said, pending finalisation of the tender the oil companies have started reimbursing the dealers at the new rate, which is 20 per cent lower than the existing rate.

The coming strike, he added, might affect the consumers if it is prolonged for a few days. There would be hardly any impact in the initial days, as the oil companies have decided to keep the terminals open on Sunday and supply the product.

An official of a national oil company, however, said the transporters have been urged not to go on a strike. Hoping that the ongoing talks between the companies and transporters would lead to an amicable solution, he said, "on Sunday we propose to top-up the storage at the petrol pumps."

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Tamil Nadu