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Raja Simhan T.E.

CHENNAI, April 14

The all-India indefinite strike by truckers from today was "unwarranted'', though all the reasons (for the strike) cited by the All-India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) were genuine, feel a section of the truck industry here.

"We are forced to go on a strike. Given an option we would love to run the vehicles but fear damage to trucks by the strikers," they said. The AIMTC represents the entire transport industry in the country.

"The strike would only worsen the situation for truckers who are already faced with a plethora of problems including depleting cargo to carry and poor freight rates. Keeping vehicles idle would only aggravate the situation further and not solve the problems.

The loss in keeping a vehicle idle could be about Rs 2,000 per day. We need to find alternative means including increased lobbying with the Government to find amicable solutions to our problems," they said.

Over 27 lakh trucks across the country are participating in the indefinite `chakka jam' agitation called by the AIMTC to press for its 10-point charter of demands.

The demands include immediate fixing of freight rates for trucks, abolition of golden card system and keeping truckers outside the purview of VAT (value added tax).

In Tamil Nadu about 1.75 lakh trucks were off the road completely paralysing movement of goods throughout the State.

The worst affected area was in and around Namakkal district, which is the headquarters of more than half of the truck operators in the State.

Mr P. Sengodan, immediate past President, AIMTC, told Business Line, "in the last few months, we tried hard to make the Centre to look into our problems. However, there was no response from the Centre, which has forced the AIMTC to announce the indefinite strike".

He disagreed with a section of the truck fraternity in Chennai that the strike was unwarranted, saying there was no choice for the AIMTC.

Mr Sengodan, who is also the President of the Namakkal-based State Lorry Owners Federation, said movement of trucks came to a grinding halt from Monday morning in and around Namakkal, called `city of trucks', including Tiruchengode, a major centre for rig vehicles, Salem, Dharmapuri, Coimbatore and Madurai.

According to Mr Sengodan, after buying trucks for about Rs 5 lakh, the vehicle owners lose about Rs 1.5-2 lakh per year due to reduced freight rates and load but increased overheads including high insurance premium, payment of various tax and a number toll charges across the country. "It is a pathetic state of affairs for the truck owners as we could not even breakeven. It is better to keep vehicles idle than run them at a huge loss," he said.

"We (truckers) have not been recognised as an industry by the Centre. This is a major detriment for the truck sector's growth despite the fact that we are one of the largest employers in the country," said a truck operator in Chennai.

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