BANGALORE: Demanding a hike in transport charges, LPG transporters are staging a strike from Thursday night. Around 4,000 LPG transporters who provide LPG cylinders to Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have stopped their operations. Although the heat has not reached the consumers, the pace with which the buffer stock is reducing, indicates the impending LPG cylinder shortage if the strike extends for a few more days.
The truckers have demanded a hike in the existing tender freight charges from `2.24 to `3.90 paise per ton, per kilometre. Including Karnataka, residential and commercial units in Andra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu will face the brunt.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, B V Narayannappa of the Southern Region LPG Tanker Lorry Transport Owners Association said, “We have been plying for `2.24 paise for thirty years lease which ended in October last year. We are now asking the oil marketing firms to renew the rates by granting us `3.90 paise per ton per kilometre.”
Truckers when questioned said that they were operating incurring loss as the prices of fuel and maintenance charges of vehicles had shooted-up. Also sources said that the oil firms had agreed to renew the tender rates only by `10 paise.
“Talks are going on between the association and oil marketing firms. We are expecting a positive feedback from them in the next two days. We may have to extend our protest if the oil firms do not pay heed to our demand,” the sources said.
There are about 1,600 trucks transporting LPG from Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited in Karnataka, of which 500 are dedicated to Bangalore.