Team Herald
SANGUEM: Claiming that the Sanguem has at least 300 trucks with around 500 families solely dependent on the mining business, President of Sanguem Truck Owners’ Association Babu Narvekar has sought the government intervention in providing a solution to the imbroglio over the alleged ‘illegal’ jurisdiction policy adopted by the truckers in their respective areas.
The truck owners from Sanguem said they had high hopes of getting their trucks hired at Rivona mines, which could have provided them with some relief, but they have been left in the lurch following opposition by their Rivona counterparts.
Though transportation of e-auctioned ore is in full swing at major mines in Sanvordem and Rivona, the truckers in Sanguem have only the Timblo mine at Tolem to operate from. However, the Tolem Mine has hardly been operational since the resumption of mining in the State, the truckers claimed.
In the last season, the Tolem mine had functioned for around 20 days and in the current season, the ore transportation till date has been only for 19 days, they said.
“With the truckers being entitled for only one trip per day, our earnings are minimum and do not suffice to breakeven the cost incurred by the truckers,” informed Carlito Martins, a truck owner.
“Under these circumstances, it is the Government, which is having the last laugh,” claimed another truck owner. “With high hopes of earning some revenue, the truckers had spent around Rs 35,000 on annual insurance besides another Rs 8,000 towards GPRS and Rs 12,000 towards the road tax and fitness certificate. In addition, the truck owners have to incur expenditure on the maintenance of trucks and the drivers’ salary, which is around Rs 22,000 per month,” he claimed.
“However, even after spending a huge sum, the truck operators in Sanguem continue to suffer losses as their trucks are denied entry at the neighbouring mines,” claimed Anthony Vaz, a truck owner.
