Transport operators in Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, have threatened to stop picking LPG cargo if the public outcry in Kerala continues against the movement of such cargo by road.
Following last month’s accident in Kannur involving an LPG tanker, which killed 20 people and injured several others, there is growing public anger against movement of such vehicles.
“It is difficult to operate vehicles when there is a huge threat to our drivers and vehicles,” said M. Ponnambalam, President, Southern Region Bulk LPG Transport Owners’ Association, whose 1,500-odd members in and around Namakkal region own nearly 4,000 vehicles.
Tankers carrying LPG from Mangalore Refinery need to pass through Kerala to enter Tamil Nadu for unloading at Coimbatore, Madurai, and Manali, near Chennai. Also, the vehicles need to load at Kochi refinery in order to unload the cargo across the country.
The public in Kerala are not permitting the tankers to be parked anywhere in the State and have even damaged tankers and manhandled its crew, says Ponnambalam. Narrow and potholed roads, coupled with restrictions on operation of tankers during the day, have caused hardship to the transporters. “None of our members now want to operate in Kerala,” he said.
“When we go to the border check post, the officials there restrict the LPG tanker from entering the State. They say that national permit vehicles should have two drivers. However, at the same time, they allow other Kerala-registered goods carriers with national permit despite not having two drivers,” he said.
These problems were taken up with the Kerala Government officials, but could not be resolved. “We will be forced to stop plying our vehicles from September 30 if the issue is not sorted out,” he said.
On the Kannur incident, Ponnambalam said that it happened due to bad roads and that the driver was not at fault. “Driving through Kannur’s bad roads is a nightmare,” he said. Each vehicle carries nearly 18 tonnes of LPG. Bad roads may lead to major accidents, he said.