Sundargarh: Truckers and transporters affiliated to ‘Sundargarh Milita Truck Malika Sangh’ have started ‘chakka jam’ from Sunday for an indefinite period over their demand for hiking fare of coal transportation from the MCL mines in the district. As a result, coal transportation from three MCL mines in Sundargarh to Jharsuguda, Sambalpur and neighbouring Chhattisgarh has been affected Sunday. The truckers said that the government hiked prices of diesel, toll tax and spare parts of vehicles by several notches in the past. This has pushed the transporters into deep financial crisis while most of the truckers have been struggling to pay off their loan installments.
Many of them have gone bankrupt too, they added. Due to strike, thousands of trucks engaged in coal transportation were found lined up along roads in the district. In the past, the truck owners and the management of various coal-buying companies had held two rounds of meetings through the mediation of the district administration to discuss the demand of the truck owners to hike fare by Rs 140 per tonne, but the meetings remained inconclusive. “As the meetings yielded no results, we were bound to start strike,” said some truckers. The truck owners held a meeting Sunday at Duduka. Sundargarh MP Jual Oram, former Speaker Kishore Patel, MLA Kusum Tete, Talasara MLA Bhabani Shankar Bhoi, sarpanchs from various panchayats and local people supported the truckers’ strike.