JAJPUR: The Kalinga Nagar Industries Association (KNIA) has urged the state government to take action against the alleged high-handedness and coercive practices of the local truck associations.
In a letter to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, association president PL Kandoi said the district administration and police should be instructed to conduct an inquiry and take appropriate measures against the ‘hooliganism’ of truck associations in Kalinga Nagar industrial complex.
The letter also apprised the CM about the mushrooming of several local associations in Kalinga Nagar which are dictating terms in fixation of the price of transportation.
The associations insist on only engaging their trucks for transportation work. Besides, they also charge exorbitant price which is hampering the commercial interest of industries. “The associations are charging an extra 50 per cent of the market rate for freight by trucks engaged by them in industries. They are not allowing regular transporters to engage their trucks in the plants,” alleged Kandoi.
The industry body further said if this kind of blackmail is allowed, it will lead to closure of all the industries in Kalinga Nagar. Customers will simply take their business elsewhere. Appropriate action should be taken against such illegal associations to safeguard the interest of industries, the letter added.