Truckers strike pushes up commodity prices
New
Delhi: As the nationwide strike by tens of thousands
of truckers continued, the prices of essential commodities
have gone up in several parts of the country. Although
the impact of the strike was not felt much earlier, vegetable
traders in Delhi said prices have gone up at the Azadpur
Market. "The strike has led to a hike in the prices of
the vegetables," said Ashok Kumar, a vegetable trader.
The strike has also affected the livelihood of the labourers
employed by traders at Azadpur market for loading and
unloading sacks of vegetables and fruits. Due to the strike,
the number of trucks coming into the market has reduced,
leaving the laborers with less work. "The strike has affected
our livelihood. Earlier, we used to get enough work, but
these days there is less work," said Surender Yadav, a
labourer. Union Shipping and Road Transport Minister T.
R. Baalu appealed to the transporters to call off their
strike and opt for a negotiated settlement. "I can only
request the transporters to currently withdraw the strike
and go for negotiable settlement,' said Baalu. In this
context, Baalu said that the oil sectors have incurred
losses that need to be compensated. "The oil sectors have
suffered loss for the past four to five years. The accumulated
loss they have to recover, but they cannot recover overnight.
And you cannot expect overnight industry reduce also,"
added Baalu. The All India Motor Transport Congress, which
represents around six million truckers across the country
called for the indefinite strike from Monday, demanding
reduction of diesel prices and withdrawal of the service
tax on truckers. The truckers have vowed to stay off the
roads until their demands are met. Reportedly, consequent
to the call for the strike, there was about 10-20 per
cent of normal freight traffic in India on Monday, the
transport authorities said.
Over
70 per cent of freight in India moves by road, and truckers
have benefited from a booming economy that requires the
transport of steel and cement for construction. But the
country's 200,000 transport companies have been hit in
recent months by a slowing economy, higher interest rates
on vehicle loans and greater competition from the railways.
India cut prices of petrol and diesel on December 6 after
crude oil tumbled, but the economy, has shown signs of
slowing amid the global financial crisis after growing
at nine per cent or more in the past three years. Inflation
is at a near ten-month low and the truckers' strike is
not expected to have any long-term adverse impact.
-Jan
9, 2009
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