SANGUEM: The truck owners from Sanguem, Uguem and other nearby areas are angry that their trucks have not been hired for transporting e-auctioned ore in Rivona and other villages.

The agitated truck owners from Uguem and Sanguem informed that since past many days, the transport contractors at Rivona and other areas have refused entry of their trucks at the mines for transpiration of e-auctioned ore.

The contractors and the truck owners from the mining belt towns of Rivona and Quepem have reportedly resolved to permit only those trucks owned by people from Rivona, Quepem and Sanvordem to transport ore from mines in Rivona. 

This has left the truckers from Sanguem and Uguem without any work since the past many days. Even entry to Timblo Mines at Caurem where these truckers used to regularly ply their vehicles is denied thereby making the truckers ponder as to what they have to do with their trucks.

Earlier, when mining activity was in full swing, truckers from all over Goa plied their vehicles at Tolem mines in Sanguem freely without any restrictions and the truckers from Sanguem and Uguem did not impose any restrictions on hiring vehicles from outside Sanguem region. 

These truckers wonder why they should pay the annual charges of Rs 8000 towards GPRS if their trucks were to be denied entry for transportation of e-auctioned ore. 

Some truck owners are also disappointed over the huge amount of Rs 33,000 paid by them towards the renewal of their insurance policies.

The affected truckers said that even a representation made to the Sanguem MLA Prasad Gaonkar to this effect failed to yield any positive results. 

The truckers have urged the government authorities to address the issue faced by the truckers from Sanguem and Uguem before the truckers decide on future course of action.