Stalemate between truckers, industrialists continues

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Una, July 9

There seems to be no end to the impasse between truckers and industrialists of Tahliwal, one of the biggest industrial areas of the state after Baddi and Nalagarh, despite the efforts of Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri.

Sources said the truck union of Tahliwal had stopped the entry of containers sent by private companies for packaging.

The industrialists alleged that the union did not have its own containers and that any export order had to be sealed inside the industry after quality check. “Companies placing export orders do not allow any alteration in the containers after they are sealed,” they said.

“The truck operators want us to take material in their vehicles from Tahliwal and shift it to the containers at some other place. This is illogical as the companies do not allow any alteration once the containers are moved out of the industry,” the traders said. They said they were suffering huge losses due to the stalemate.

Owner of Ram Kripa Agro Food Pvt Ltd Rajinder Arora said his export consignment was blocked by the truck operators. “The union does not have the containers, still it is blocking our consignments. Its members even beat up drivers of our trucks,” he said.

Rakesh Chawla, general manager, Surjeet Starch, one of the biggest units in the Bathu industrial area, said they were also facing problems in sending their export consignments as the local truck union was not allowing them to operate their trucks.

The industrialists alleged that the union was charging exorbitantly high and that its services were poor. They said the state government should frame a transport policy for industrial areas and fix transportation charges.

The industrialists also met the Deputy Commissioner of Una.