AGTOA wants societies to operate mines

TEAM HERALD
bureau@herald-goa.com
CURCHOREM: Opposing the idea of granting leases to mines owners, a group of truck operators from Curchorem-Sanvordem want the government to form cooperative societies of people from mining areas and to operate the mines through these societies.
At a meeting in Sanvordem-Tisk on Friday, the truck operators also decided to hold a public meeting on April 27 at Sanvordem to create awareness among truck owners and mining dependent people regarding mining activities after the lifting of the mining ban in the State.
All Goa Truck Owner’s Association (AGTOA) President Nilkant Gauns, South Goa AAP candidate Swati Kerkar, Siddhart Karapurkar and Avinash Tavares were present among others.
During the meeting on Friday, the truck operators decided to urge the government to form the cooperative societies of the people from the mining belt and to operate mines through these societies.
“Leases should not be given to the mines owners as they failed to help the mining dependent people in their time of need. Mines owners earned through illegal mining and as an effect of this, local people from mining belt as well as truck owners suffered a lot. Instead of giving mining leases to the mines owners again, they should be given to people through cooperative societies,” said a truck operator.
Other decisions taken at the meeting included the demand that mining transportation should be given only to those trucks registered with Goa Electronic Limited (GEL), abolishing of the contract system and the government’s intervention to decide the fare for the mining trucks.
Truck owners demand ore transportation only by trucks registered with Goa Electronic Limited. Abolishing of contract system and that the government should decide the fare for mining trucks