Transportation of goods by trucks to Kerala through Walayar came to a standstill on Wednesday with the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) announcing indefinite strike from April 1 demanding measures for speedy clearance and more facilities at the check-post.
G.R. Shanmugappa, chairman of the toll committee of the AIMTC, told The Hindu over telephone on Wednesday that almost all trucks stopped transporting goods to Kerala. Though the truckers were expected to have talks with the Kerala Chief Minister on Thursday, it had been postponed now. “We will continue our indefinite strike and strengthen our protest. Bulk LPG tankers are likely to join the strike”, he said.
About 3,000 lorries carry goods worth Rs. 600 crore to Kerala every day and the loss to the lorry owners is Rs. 70 crore a day. Loss of revenue (tax loss) to the Government is estimated to be Rs. 80 crore, he said. Transport of vegetables to Kerala from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and rice was stopped fully. “We stopped the booking for the last four days,” he said.
Mr. Shanmugappa added that the immediate demands of the lorry owners included taking over of the weigh bridge by the government at the check post and increasing the counters.
Movement of lorries on the 14-km stretch from Madukkarai to the Walayar check-post came down on Wednesday morning.
A few lorries were stopped before the Kerala border. Some vehicles that reached Walayar one or two days ago, proceeded after getting clearance.
K. Lingam, a lorry driver for the last 45 years, said he has been waiting near the Walayar check post since Sunday. He was transporting plywood from Kolkata. “They say there is some discrepancy in the bill. There was no problem at the check posts in Maharashtra and Orissa. Even drinking water is not available here,” he says.
“Even if there are no problems in the bill, if we are transporting any parcel, we wait for almost three days at Walayar,” he claims.
Vinod Kumar, Shantha Kumar and Gunasekaran, who were transporting goods in two lorries from Sriperumpudur to Thrissur, said they had to stop near Walayar because of the strike.
They pass the Walayar check-post at least twice a month. Clearance does not take so much time in Karnataka or Andhra Pradesh or even in Tamil Nadu.
At Walayar, it takes a long time and there is not even a hotel near by, they say.
