Team Herald
PONDA: Dharbandora Tipper Truck Owners’ Association (DTTOA) president Balaji Gawas has called upon the truck owners not to transport ore if the government and mining companies fail to hike ore transportation rates and meet their other major demands.
Addressing the media along with the association members, Gawas, who is also Dharbandora Sarpanch, demanded the ore transportation rate be hiked to Rs 14-15 per ton/ per km and that the diesel rate be charged at Rs 52 per litre at the petrol pumps run by the mining companies.
The members claimed that last year they suffered losses due to poor rates. The association has alerted its members against the last year’s plight when they were paid only Rs 12.33 for auctioned ore per ton/per km and Rs 9.50-10.50 per ton per km for long and short distance respectively.
Gawas called upon the truck owners to remain united as that there is every possibility of ore transportation companies pressurising them or adopting tactics to divide them.
He said the Sanvordem MLA had agreed to take up the issue with the government and at the same time, the association had also demanded government’s intervention in deciding the hike in ore transportation rates per tone/per km for the upcoming mining season.
Dharbandora Truck Owners’ Association has around 500 members and has requested its counterparts across Goa not to operate their trucks if the government and the mining companies fail to hike the ore transportation rate and meet their other demands.
The members have demanded a cut in GPS charges by Rs 500 per month which they allege were hiked by government by Rs 8,000 as annual charges, reduction in insurance charges as earlier it was Rs 15000 which skyrocketed to Rs 45,000, cancellation of speed governors and implementation of GPS system during ore transportation and exemption in road tax for three months during the no mining period. Gawas hopes that Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar will intervene into the matter and fix the rates by solving demands.
According to association members, they are engaged in ore transportation only for seven month and have suffered losses as for the remaining five months the trucks remain idle.
The further alleged that prior to hike in GPS by Rs 8,000 last year, the government was charging Rs 500 per month, which would amount to Rs 3,500 for seven months but instead it started overcharging them by Rs 4,500 which is not acceptable.
The association criticised the government for implementing speed governor system and GPS system at a same time.
