Keonjhar: A move by some industrial firms to transport iron ores and other minerals through pipelines other than road and rail routes has sparked resentment among the truck owners, a report said.
This has flared up tension among the truck owners coming from various parts of the district and earning their livelihood from mineral transportations. They believe that this will rob them of their livelihood and would render scores of drivers, helpers, garage owners, hotel owners and workers jobless. They warned of an agitation if their demands are not met.
The matter came to the fore after a delegation of the truck owners from Keonjhar, Joda, Barbil, Guali, Kalimati and Bhadrasahi in the district submitted a memorandum to the district Collector demanding to ferry at least 60 per cent of the minerals through road routes. They demanded that the district administration and the state government should consider their demands and allow them to earn their livelihood.
The move comes after a major industrial firm and some other firms started making preparations to transport iron ores through four pipelines. Earlier, iron ores were being transported to Kalinganagar Industrial Complex, the hub of major industrial firms in Jajpur district, and Paradip Port through pipelines after road and rail routes. The firms have started work on this front by laying down pipelines.
Speaking to mediapersons, Surya Narayan Kar, secretary of Keonjhar District Truck Owners’ Association, said that they are already incurring losses after iron ore transportation was started through rail routes. He feared that the move will push the future of thousands of truck owners and scores of other downstream units, including their families, to darkness.