COIMBATORE: Another sector to be severely affected by the fuel price hike is the lorry business. M R Kumarasamy, president of the State Lorry Owner’s Federation-Tamil Nadu (SLOF-TN), claims that this is forcing many people to quit the business and pursue other avenues of income.“With the recent hike, diesel price has touched Rs 73. After that spending on diesel has increased to Rs 15 per km since May 27 from the Rs 12 on January 1. However, lorry owners earn only Rs 20 per km of operation, with 65-70 per cent of the revenue going towards fuel expense,” he explains.
The lorry business was already becoming a loss-making one due to increase in operating cost and price of spare parts, insurance premium and toll gate charges. Besides, getting qualified and trustworthy drivers to operate the vehicles too has become extremely cumbersome. Hence, salary and beta (bonus) had to be increased to attract more candidates. Add to this the hike in fuel expenditure and it is a recipe for a disaster, Kumarasamy says.
GST too has contributed to the business’ woes. While earlier, owners had enough business to operate lorries for at least 17 days a month, it has now come down to less than 10. Unable to keep up with the loses and non-operative conditions, lorry owners with two or three vehicles are quitting the business, he claims.
“Considering the fuel hike, the Karnataka government has reduced the diesel price by `2.75 per litre by cutting down on State tax. Hence, lorries travelling through the State fill up fuel there instead of in Tamil Nadu. Out State government should also reduce tax on petrol and diesel like its counterpart in Karnataka andbring some relief to the sector,” he suggested.
