Karnataka - Bangalore   

Truckers’ strike may hit supply of essentials

Off the road: LPG tankers parked at MRPL gate near Mangalore following the indefinite strike called by the Southern Region LPG Bulk Transport Owners’ Association.

BANGALORE: Supply of essential commodities is likely to be disrupted with an estimated 3.6 lakh trucks going off the road in Karnataka as part of the nationwide indefinite strike called by the All-India Motor Transport Congress from Sunday midnight.

President of the Federation of Karnataka State Lorry Owners and Agents’ Association G.R. Shanmugappa said the transporters had decided to go on strike in view of the Government’s refusal to bring down the price of diesel, besides withdrawal of toll tax and service tax.

With oil tankers also not hitting the road, Mr. Shanmugappa did not rule out the possibility of a disruption even in the supply of petrol and diesel.

However, lorries transporting milk and vegetables have been exempted from the strike.

Though the price of oil had come down in the international market to less than $40 a barrel, the Government had not brought down the diesel price.

“At the current rates, the price of diesel should be fixed at Rs. 22 per litre. But, the Government is continuing to collect the same rates, which is burning a hole in the pockets of the transporters, who are already hit by recession,” Mr. Shanmugappa said.

He said the transporters were not willing to buy the Government’s argument that the high rates were necessary to recover the loss public sector oil companies had suffered when the prices were high.

Mr. Shanmugappa said the toll tax levied on transporters was not justified as the truckers paid a cess.

Besides, he urged the Government to withdraw the service tax levied on services provided by goods transport agency or its subsidiaries like truck owners.

“Though the Government had earlier agreed to this, it failed to honour the promise. It is no longer possible for us to comply with the ever increasing complexities of service tax or meet the ever increasing demands for bribes,” he said.

With an estimated 50 lakh trucks in the country likely to go off the road, Mr. Shanmugappa said the Government would lose Rs. 5,000 crore every day in the form of various taxes.

“In Karnataka alone, the loss to the exchequer will be Rs. 125 crore,” he said.

Mangalore Special Correspondent reports:

The indefinite strike called by the Southern Region LPG Bulk Transport Owners’ Association entered the fourth day on Sunday.

More than 3,500 tankers transporting liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) are off the road, affecting the supplies of LPG to bottling plants in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Puducherry and Karnataka. Hundreds of tankers are parked outside the gate of the Mangalore Refinery and Petroleum Ltd. on the outskirts of the city here. In Karnataka, the “bullet” tankers supply LPG to six bottling plants in Bangalore, and one each in Belgaum, Hubli and Shimoga.

Mr. Shanmugappa claimed that the bottling units in Bangalore were procuring a limited quantity of LPG from Chennai by train.

The LPG transporters were demanding a Rs 2.85-a-km rate against the current Rs 1.60 a km.

The oil companies had recently agreed to enhance the rate to Rs. 1.89 a km, but they had not entered into any contract with the lorry owners.

The previous agreement expired on October 31.

The oil companies had been arguing that the oil prices had gone down of late and further cuts were expected. This would bring down the cost of transportation considerably. However, the protestors had been contending that the maintenance costs had gone up owing to wear and tear because of poor roads and increase in the prices of spare parts.

Deputy Director of Food and Civil Supplies (Dakshina Kannada) Vijayakumari Shenoy told The Hindu on Sunday that continuation of the strike might affect future supplies. But there was no immediate threat to the supply of LPG cylinders in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Chikmagalur, and Kodagu districts.

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