TIRUCHY: The months-long face-off between Southern Railway and lorry drivers over parking fee collection at the railway plot near the goods yard became more intense with the former declining to even consider the demand for a reduction in rate.
Following this, lorry drivers launched a strike on Thursday evening. On Friday, several lorries were seen parked along the goods yard road as the railway restricted access to the plot where they used to park. On the face-off, a railway official said,
“The contractor collecting the parking fee claimed that he was facing huge losses as most drivers were not willing to pay. So, he dropped the contract. We would soon allot it to someone else. Until then, we cannot provide free parking on our land which is at a prime location in the city."
Pointing to the scheduled arrival of over 10,000 tonnes of wheat at the goods yard on Sunday, Shankar, the president of the Goods Yard Lorry Drivers Association, said, “We would not take the load if the railway fails to offer parking space near the yard at an affordable rate.
We are willing to pay about Rs 1000 a month as a parking fee.” Senior officials, however, sticking to their guns said that the railway would not let the union leaders decide on parking fees at their property.
"We were charging only Rs 50 per day as a parking fee. But most lorry drivers were not willing to pay even the nominal amount. They want to park their vehicles without paying. We cannot permit that and we would not let them decide the parking fee. Even if they don't take the load from the goods yard, it is not a matter of concern for the railway," a source said.
"The railway as a transporter is responsible only for transporting the goods from one place to another. Once the goods reach the destination, it is the responsibility of the customer concerned to clear them from railway property. Therefore, even if they claim that they would not collect the goods from the yard, it is an issue affecting the customer and not the railway," he added.
Meanwhile, sources said that lorry drivers plan to use the load-reaching yard instead to park their vehicles.