Sukhu fails to break Adani-truckers impasse

Shimla: Two days of intense reconciliatory efforts to break a 62- day long deadlock between the Adani Group and striking truck unions failed to make any fresh headway as the two sides remained adamant on their stand relating to freight charges revision.

“The talks held on Tuesday to resolve the cement dispute have remained inconclusive,” confirmed Ramkrishan Sharma, a member of the core group of striking truckers’ unions.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, who had called the truck unions for talks on Monday, had a fresh round of meetings with the cement company representatives and truck unions.

Truck operators clearly stated that they will not charge less than Rs 10.70 per quintal per km while Adani Group refused to pay anything above Rs 10 per quintal per km for ‘single-axle’ trucks and Rs 9 for double axles.

The truck operators rejected the offer of the management and decided to continue their strike.

“What option is left before us to keep trucks off the road and intensify the struggle? The government did make some serious effort. Supported our cause but could not mould the cement company. We can say the government also can’t bend the company too much. There is a limit within which the government functions” says Sharma blaming the company for the

stalemate.

He admitted that it’s also impossible for the truck unions at the Barmana cement plant to accept lower freight charges against what they were already charging at Rs 11.41 per quintal per km.

“Finally, the truck operators have realised that it’s going to be a long-drawn battle. The operator is ready to wait six more months,” said Sharma.

Meanwhile, Industries Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan, who has been part of the reconciliatory efforts for the past two weeks, said although the CEO of Adani Group was not present in the meeting, he has informed about the truck freight rates fixed by the company.

“The company has fixed the fare of the single-axle trucks at Rs 10 and double axle at Rs 9, but the truck operator is not accepting this fare,” said Chauhan.

Yet, the minister said the government was trying to solve this issue soon and the interests of the truck operators will be fully taken care of. Due to the closure of the cement plant where the state government was facing a loss of Rs 2 crore every day in terms of taxes and power tariffs.

The livelihoods of 2,500 families are also adversely affected in the areas where these plants are located. There are more than 6,000 trucks engaged in cement transportation at two cement plants of the Adani Group.

The truck unions alleged that people had given their lands and sacrificed everything. But the company is only for pure profits. The operators have agreed to come down on their stand but the company is not agreeing to meet a gap of 70 paise.

“We had to walk out of the meeting today as it was useless to extend talk as management is proving hard bargainer,” Sharma regretted.

Now the strategy of the agitation will be decided by bringing all the transporters on one platform.