PONDA: The All Goa Mining Truck Owners Association (AGMTOA) has appealed to the government, mining companies and public to understand the truck owners’ plight and not blame them for stopping the transportation of e-auctioned ore in Goa.
Addressing the press on Saturday, AGMTOA president Nilkanth Gawas said that in the last three years, the mining ban had affected not just the truck owners, but all others in the State due to lack of revenue from mining. He stated that the truck owners are not interested in stopping the transportation of ore, but the situation created by the government and mining companies had forced them to do it.
He also alleged that the government and mining companies are criticizing the truck owners for stopping transportation without looking at the fact that they are making very few trips, for which the contractor pays them a paltry Rs 6 per kilometre per tonne as against Rs 12.33 fixed by the government.
“The truck owners will not survive if they get only one trip a week at a poor rate. There are several trucks, and to survive, all of them need transportation work. They are getting very few trips – not even three in a week – and have to suffer losses at the end of the month as the cost of transportation exceeds the profit they earn,” said Gawas.
The truck owners have also demanded the abolition of the contract system for transportation of ore. Meanwhile, the truck owners’ association has called a meeting to discuss their problems on October 25 at 4 pm at the Dhareshwari Hall in Dharbandora.
