Keonjhar truckers protest ore transport through slurry pipes
KEONJHAR: Protesting transportation of iron ore through slurry pipelines, truck owners’ associations of Keonjhar on Monday stopped the ongoing pipe-laying work across the district on Monday.
The agitating members of truck owners’ associations of Keonjhar, Joda, Barbil, Guali and Bhadrasahi halted the slurry pipeline-laying work at Gopalpur, Katarabeda, Ghatgaon, Anandpur and Kanjipani areas in the district.
Sources said the truckers have been long protesting transportation of iron ore through pipelines. Demanding priority for local trucks in mineral transportation, they have approached the district administration and even staged dharna several times in the past but to no avail. Recently on April 16, members of the core committee of the truck owners’ associations had met the district collector and SP over their demands.
Convener of the core committee Debu Patnaik said the truckers were forced to take matters into their own hands as the district administration failed to stop transportation of iron ore through slurry pipelines.
“Since Keonjhar is a mining district, educated unemployed local youths have entered the business of transporting iron ore by trucks. They are paying off bank loans of the vehicles and supporting their families by doing the transportation business.
The entire economy of the district depends on the trucking business. However, the livelihood of truck owners has been badly affected as several companies are transporting minerals from the district through pipelines,” he claimed.
Secretary of Joda truck owners’ association Susanta Barik claimed only a few mine and factory owners are benefiting from the transportation of iron ore through pipelines. “This is not leading to the development of the district or the truck owners in any way.”
President of Kendujhar district truck owners’ association Padmalochan Sahu said the district administration was given 10 days to provide justice to the truckers. But as the issue was not resolved, the truck owners decided to stop the pipeline work. “The protest will be intensified in the coming days if the administration does not pay heed to our demands,” he threatened.
While the truck owners have halted the pipeline-laying work indefinitely, Keonjhar sub-collector Uma Shankar Dalai said the administration is yet to receive any report in this regard.