MARGAO: Even as the deadlock over the transportation of bauxite ore from the Naqueri plateau continues, local truck owners have now warned that they will block ore transportation unless they are given preference over truck owners from outside the village.
With talks between the rival ore transporters with the deputy collector ending in a deadlock on two occasions, local trucks owners said they cannot be bullied by the pressure tactics from truck owners hailing from Cuncolim, Balli and other places.
Krishna Sawant Desai told the media on Thursday that local truck owners are insisting on first preference in the ore transportation because of the damage they have suffered because of bauxite mining in the village. “Mining of bauxite ore had left our paddy fields damaged. We cannot cultivate our fields any longer after they were destroyed by the mining. We were left with no option than to purchase trucks and join the transportation business. We were promised of preferential treatment, which outside truck owners now want to take away”, Krishna said.
Similar sentiments were echoed by other truck owners from the Naqueri-Betul belt, warning they would not succumb to pressure tactics adopted by the outside truck owners. “We will not compromise on our demand for two trips and preferential treatment in the transportation of ore. If our stand is not acceptable to the outside truck owners, we will stop all ore transportation business”, Krishna said.
Transportation of ore from the Naqueri plateau has come to a stop for around a fortnight now after outside truck owners from Balli, Cuncolim and other parts of South Goa demanded equal treatment for all truck owners transporting ore from the plateau. Sources in the know said that District Collector Venancio Furtado is likely to intervene as attempts made by the Quepem Deputy Collector to end the stalemate have failed to bring the desired effect on the ground. When contacted, Venancio told Herald that the administration will intervene in the dispute between the truck owners after the zatra of Shree Shantadurga Kunkallikaren at Fatorpa, which gets underway on Dec 26.
