BHUBANESHWAR/CUTTACK: The supply of essential commodities, vegetables, fuel and gas was badly hit across Odisha for the second consecutive day on Thursday due to an indefinite strike by Drivers' Ekata Mahamanch, a federation of around five lakh drivers.
According to Odisha Byabasayee Mahasangha, more than 400 truckloads of perishable food items, including vegetables, fish and eggs are stranded at different locations as their drivers have joined the protest.
Several vegetable mandis including Chhatra Bazar in Cuttack, the biggest vegetable and fruit wholesale market of the state, have gone out of fresh vegetables and fruits due to the non-arrival of commodities.
The Unit I market in Bhubaneswar that caters to the demands of the state capital is also staring at a shortage of vegetables.
Sources said more than 200 trucks transport vegetables, fruits and other essential commodities from outside states to Chhatra Bazar and Unit I market every day.
A few vehicles carrying vegetables and fruits had reached on Tuesday night but since Wednesday, transport has been stopped both from inside and outside the state due to the drivers’ strike.
Chhatra Bazar Byabasai Sangha President Debendra Sahu said that there is no availability of several vegetables including beetroot, carrot, beans, cabbage, brinjals, green peas, capsicum, bitter gourd and tomato. While the stock of bananas is completely finished, other fruits may last up to a day, he said.
The condition of Malgodown, the largest wholesale market for essential commodities in the state, is also the same. The traders are apprehensive that the situation will worsen in the coming days if necessary steps are not taken for resolving the issues of the drivers.
Secretary of Odisha Byabasayee Mahasangha Sudhakar Panda has appealed to the state government to immediately take steps and instruct police to provide protection to the stranded trucks to reach their respective destinations. "Hundreds of trucks with perishable goods have been detained by the agitating drivers. The goods will not last long if the trucks are not released in the next 24 hours. The markets will also go out of essential commodities soon as stocks are going down. The government should act immediately," he demanded.
The state is also staring at a shortage of fuel.
State-level coordinator of the oil industry Niraj Nimje on Thursday apprised the government that fuel tankers are unable to reach their destinations due to the protests by the drivers at various places.
"The tankers have not been able to reach the capital city and other places since Wednesday due to the protests. The drivers of the tankers are reluctant to travel during the demonstrations," Utkal Petroleum Association's general secretary Sanjay Lath said.
Though no crisis has erupted so far, the petrol pump owners said their fuel reserves can last for a maximum of three days only. "If the tankers do not reach the capital by Thursday evening, then the state government will have to ensure their unhindered passage on Friday," added Lath.
The petrol pumps in the capital city receive fuel from the depots in Jatni and Paradip. About 40 to 50 tankers arrive in the city every day to unload the fuel.
Meanwhile, the protesting drivers blocked the National Highway near Tamando for the second consecutive day on Thursday. Commissionerate Police personnel resorted to mild lathi charge in the afternoon today to disperse the protesting drivers and restore traffic flow.