The Hindu : Petrol tanker operators to rejoin strike

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 19, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Petrol tanker operators to rejoin strike

By Our Tamil Nadu Bureau

DAY 5 OF THE TRUCK STRIKE: The normally busy Salt Cotaurs railway station in north Chennai presents a deserted look, with no movement of foodgrains or cement. — Photo: K. Pichumani

CHENNAI April 18. Petroleum tanker operators today threatened to rejoin the five-day-old nationwide strike by truckers, even as several more sections including labourers and the construction industry began feeling the pinch of the agitation.

The State Petroleum Trucks and Tankers Association, which met here today, decided to stop operation of the fuel trucks from Sunday.

A spokesman for the tanker operators said that they had not joined the strike for the past three days, on seeing the problems caused by fuel scarcity in Chennai earlier this week and also as hopes were held out by talks conducted with the Union Government.

"Now that the talks do not seem to promise any solution and also because of harassment and threats from the police — allegedly forcing the tanker operators to ply — , we have decided to rejoin the agitation. From Sunday petroleum products as well LPG supplies are bound to be severely hit," the spokesman told The Hindu.

Meanwhile non-operation of trucks, vans and tankers continued to paralyse normal activity across different sectors.

Vegetable markets Statewide had to be content with supplies brought by government and private buses. Vegetable prices remained high, despite an improvement in arrivals by bus, said wholesalers in Chennai.

The truckers have also threatened to stop the movement of milk, water and LPG cylinders, if their demands remain unresolved in the next few days.

A Southern Railway spokesman said the demand for additional wagons had not gone up, in the absence of trucks even to bring consignments or move them from the railway stations and terminals. Port operations also remained crippled as containers piled up in Chennai.

The strike has severely hit Below the Poverty Line families and 15 lakh loaders, drivers, cleaners, C and F agents and workers in clearing agencies, besides thousands of wage earners on railway goods yards. They have remained without work for the past five days.

Producers and traders were looking for more help from the State Government, besides providing more buses and police escort.

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