QUEPEM: Truck drivers formerly employed by the mining industry in South Goa have expressed fear that mining activities will not be re-started in the southern district, where most mines are part of the Western Ghats, in view of the Kasturirangan Report.
Addressing media persons on Tuesday, South Goa Progressive Truck Owners Association (SGPTOA) President Prakash Raut Desai demanded that the government provide clarity on their future.
“Due to the closure of the mineral mines for the last 12 years, the people who depend on this business have suffered. The additional burden of paying higher green tax, fines and other charges is financially crippling for truck owners. For so many years, the government has only made promises that mining will begin again, but we have received no concrete information,” said Desai, adding that most of their trucks are now more than 15 years old, and they will have to obtain fitness certificates for their vehicles from the RTO, or pay a Rs 50 per day fine. Currently, the blocks which have been auctioned are only from North Goa mines; the South Goa mines have not been included, creating an atmosphere of fear among the truck owners.
