TEAM HERALD
CURCHOREM: All Goa Truck Owner’s Association (AGTOA) President Nilkant Gauns has felt that the State government must take over all mines in the State and run it and share the profits among the government and people who are staying in the mining belt.
Gauns was speaking at a public meeting organised by some truck operators from Sanvordem at Sanvordem-Tisk to create awareness among the truck operators about the decision of the truck owners and other mining dependent people.
“The government wants to start ore transportation on contract basis, but we strongly oppose this move,” stated Gauns.
“Instead of leasing the mines to mines owners, the government must take over all mines in the State and run it and share the profits among the government and people who are staying in the mining belt,” said Gauns, while seeking the government’s intervention to decide the fare for the mining trucks.
South Goa AAP candidate Swati Kerkar also spoke and assured her party’s support to AGTOA.
It may be recalled that a group of truck operators from Sanvordem in a meeting on April 25 decided to urge the government to form cooperative societies of the people from mining areas and to operate the mines through these societies.
It was also decided to demand that mining transportation should be given only to those trucks which are registered with the Goa Electronic Limited (GEL), abolishing of the contract system and the government’s intervention to decide the fare for the mining trucks.
The transport operators also demand that government should give them financial help to install GPRS to their trucks and recover later on as they cannot afford to pay at this stage for the installation of the system due to financial crunch faced by them on account of stoppage of mining activities in the State.
