Goods movement was hit in Madurai and other places in the southern districts on Thursday in the wake of an indefinite strike called by All India Motor Transport Congress in support of its various demands, including suspension of toll collection on highways.
Loading and unloading activities on the busy Masi streets around Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple remained affected as lorry owners suspended operation. According to C. Sathiah, president, Madurai Lorry Owners’ Association, about 2,000 lorries were not operated in the day, resulting in a daily loss of Rs. 1.5 crore to Rs. 2 crore to the owners.
Mr. Sathiah said that the strike affected about 50,000 people who were directly employed in the goods transport sector and about 25,000 people who either operated or worked in workshops. He estimated the business loss caused by the strike to be around Rs. 200 crore a day.
All the 264 parcel booking offices in and around Madurai, which are involved in transport of goods, also remained closed.
Tirunelveli
In Tirunelveli, cargo transportation was badly hit as more than 90 per cent of the lorries participated in the strike. Of the 4,000-odd lorries in the district, including 114 lorries operated to Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, more than 90 per cent struck work demanding the removal of 373 toll plazas and regularisation of toll collection points across the country. Since a good number of lorries that bring farm produces from The Nilgiris and Dindigul districts and also from Bengaluru are participating in the strike, fruit and vegetable prices are likely to go up from Friday.
Tuticorin
Most of the trucks remained off the road in various parts of Tuticorin district. Transportation of goods by over 5,000 heavy vehicles was suspended on the first day of the strike, G. Dhanasingh, president, Tuticorin Lorry Owners’ Association, said.
The strike would affect shipping activities and normal work at Tuticorin port. Around 4,000 trucks from various parts of the country normally enter Tuticorin every day, carrying cargo to be shipped through vessels.
The seaport would incur a huge loss and those dependent on the transport sector would face an average revenue loss of Rs. 10 crore a day, according to industry estimates.
VOC Port sources said that loading and off-loading of cargo had been partially affected. Unusually, activities on berths inside the port turned dull after 11 a.m. Empty trucks were parked on the port premises, but nobody was willing to load cargo from vessels. Seven cargo vessels, two container vessels and a coal vessel were berthed at the harbour. However, container vessel operation was not affected much, sources added.
Later, the truck owners staged a demonstration at the toll gate in Pudurpandiyapuram on Madurai Bypass, demanding the shifting of the toll plaza. Mr. Dhanasingh said that the toll plaza was located within a distance of six km from the city against the stipulation of 10 km.
K. Samuel, former president of the association, said that loads of packaged salt could not be despatched owing to the strike.
S. Murugesan, a lorry driver, said that only 10 per cent of the trucks were operated in Tuticorin city.
