Date:06/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/06/stories/2009010659030400.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Minimum impact of lorry strike in city

Staff Reporter

Strike will be intensified as the government failed to end deadlock, say lorry owners

— Photo: Mohd. Yousuf

LEISURELY MEAL: Lorry drivers cooking at a parking yard in the city on Monday.

HYDERABAD: Hundreds of lorries, tippers and tankers remained off the road in the city and the Ranga Reddy district on Monday as part of the countrywide indefinite strike call given by the All India Motor Transport Congress to press for their charter of demands including reduction of diesel prices.

Though the impact of the strike was minimal on the first day with the striking associations exempting the goods vehicles carrying essential commodities from the strike, it is likely to show a cascading impact on the availability of commodities and their prices in the next few days ahead of Sankranti festival if the strike continues.

Long queues

Serpentine queues were witnessed in front of several fuel stations in Nalgonda and other parts of the State as the vehicle users vied with each other to procure adequate petrol and diesel reserves in anticipation of shortage of fuel due to the strike. The vehicular movement on the highways witnessed a marked reduction owing to the strike.

Talking to The Hindu, the AP Lorry Owners Association president P. Gopala Naidu said that the strike would be intensified from Tuesday as the government failed to end the deadlock and concede the genuine demands of the AIMTC. However, AP Transporters Joint Action Committee convenor Mohd. Khan termed the strike as uncalled for and illogical.

Meanwhile, Transport Minister Kanna Laxminarayana reviewed the situation arising out of the strike with the senior officials here on Monday. Appropriate steps will be initiated to ensure supplies and avoid inconvenience to the people, he said.