CHENNAI: Truckers warn of December 5 showdown

Source:http://expressbuzz.com/states/tamilnadu/truckers-warn-of-december-5-showdown/224535.html

                                                (PIC courtesy: picasaweb)

By G Saravanan

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai, on November 20, 2010:

CHENNAI: Sending a strong signal to the Union government on non-transparent and arbitrary toll charges being collected on national highways, All India Motor Transport Congress, an united body of truckers in the country, on Friday said the nationwide strike would begin on December 5 as planned.

Speaking to reporters here, All India Motor Transport Congress president G R Shanmugappa said, "We the truckers give November 25 deadline to the government to avert the crisis by accepting our demands, otherwise we would be forced to begin the indefinite strike as planned which could in fact cripple the country's economy."

Since 72 lakh vehicles, including Liquefied petroleum gas tankers, heavy trucks, tempos, bus and maxi cabs across the country would be going off the roads, government could be losing a revenue of Rs 6,000 crore a day, Shanmugappa told Express.

AIMTC was demanding the government to withdraw the highly arbitrary, nontransparent and extravagant excessive toll collections and illegal extortion in the name of toll.

Citing an example to tell the broad daylight loot in the name of toll charges, Shanmugappa said, "For the 300-odd km stretch between Chennai and Bangalore, a private company had spent around Rs 1,171 crore for its development. For the stretch, the agency was collecting a total toll of about Rs 52 lakh per day. And in the last four year alone, it had collected about Rs 720 crore (about half of the investment) and it could surpass its total investment in another three to four years."

"Though the company would be able to recover the amount it had spent on the stretch in about eight years, why the government gave permission to the operator to collect toll charges for 26 long years," Shanmugappa questioned.

It's a clear case of favouring the private companies by robbing the very truckers who propels the country's economy, Shanmugappa told Express.

Shanmugappa said the government during August had committed to the All India Motor Transport Congressin writing that its grievances would be redressed within 10 days. Even after two months, the government had not done anything, he added.