The Tamil Nadu Sand Lorry Owners Federation has threatened to lay siege to toll plazas in the State, if the Centre does not come forward to accept the demands of the truck operators.
Speaking to reporters in Namakkal on Thursday, Mr. Sella Rajamani, president of the federation, condemned the Centre for not holding negotiations with representatives of the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) which has called for the strike, demanding the removal of plazas on all national highways and pressing for various other demands.
Business worth several crores of rupees has been affected in the State and the lorry owners have suffered a huge loss.
Mr. Rajamani urged the AIMTC to intensify its agitation and lay siege to toll plazas across the country to mount pressure on the Centre.
The federation members will also join the agitation. He also threatened to move the court seeking a direction to the Centre to initiate negotiations with the AIMTC to end the strike.
Essential commodities, textiles, engineering goods, sago and turmeric worth several crores of rupees were stagnating in different parts of the State due to the all-India strike of the truck operators, said V. Rajavadivel, president of the Tamil Nadu Lorry Agents Association.
Fuel sales dip
The government too had suffered a heavy revenue loss, he said. Mr. Rajavadivel said that business to the tune of ₹500 crore was affected in Salem district alone.
The price of various commodities, including vegetables and fruits, had registered an upward trend, he said.
There is a sharp fall in the sale of fuel in the retail outlets in Salem and Namakkal districts following the strike. About 34,000 lorries in Salem district and another 25,000 lorries in Namakkal district are off the road since July 20.
According to V. Chennakesavan, president of the Salem District Lorry Owners Association affiliated to the State Lorry Owners Federation – Tamil Nadu, the district accounted for about 250 fuel retail outlets.
The major retail outlets supplied more than 40,000 litres of diesel for the lorries every day.
Due to the strike, the sale of diesel had come down by 60%, leading to heavy financial loss to the petrol bunk owners, he said.
CM writes to Gadkari
Flagging the difficulties faced by the general public and the possible consequences, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami urged the Centre to intervene in the lorry strike and resolve the issue to pave the way for uninterrupted transport of goods.
In his letter to the Union Minister for Road Transport Nitin Gadkari, he said the strike had affected the livelihood of many workers. Several perishable commodities like vegetables, flowers, eggs and poultry from various parts of the State were stagnating due to the ongoing lorry strike.