Meeting inconclusive, quarry strike to continue

Vadodara: The meeting between members of the Gujarat Blackstone Quarry Industries Association (GBQIA) and the geology and minerals department remained inconclusive on Monday. Sources said that the government’s approach was positive, but the demands of the quarry owners were yet to be accepted formally. The meeting was scheduled in wake of the two-week-long strike by quarries across the state. The strike has started affecting construction activity in the state for which grit mined by the quarries is a key ingredient.
The strike began on May 1 after quarry owners held a meeting in Ahmedabad after their long-pending demands were not accepted despite repeated reminders.
GBQIA has claimed that their demands were accepted after a strike in 2016, but were never implemented by the state government.
The demands of the quarry owners include allowing lease on private land, a change in the system adopted for measuring the mines, use of quarry dust instead of sand wherever possible and several others. The government had reached a written agreement with the association on their demands in December 2016, GBQIA stated.
GBQIA secretary Amit Suthar said that the discussions on Monday were positive, but their demands were yet to be accepted. “We were asked to withdraw the strike and told that our representations will be discussed with the state government. We have been promised a solution in a week,” Suthar said.
Suthar added that the association was of an opinion that till no concrete commitment was given, the strike will continue. “We are answerable to members and hence cannot end the strike in this manner. We are hopeful that a meeting will be called soon for further discussions,” he said.