Industry urges early end to truckers' strike

Strike enters fifth day

The continuing trucker's strike has led to a great deal of panic in industrial units in the state.

With the nationwide strike having entered the fifth, there has been no signs of a compromise being reached between the truckers and the Central government.

Gujarat is one of the most affected states due to truckers' strike in India. Several industrial bodies have urged for an early solution to the problem.

"The industries across the nation are facing huge losses every day due to the transport strike. The situation will be even worse if the strike does not end in a day or two. The small scale industry will have to stop their production soon as they do not have enough resources to store the inventory and finished goods," said Paresh Raval, secretary, Federation of Gujarat Industries.

The foreign traders have affected from the very first day of the strike as their containers destined for the overseas locations have not moved from the inland container depots.

"The government must do something to reach a common point with the transporters. The industry, especially export-import, is making huge losses everyday. It is essential to meet the deadline in international trade due to intense competition in global market," said Sharad Mody, chairman of Grievances Committee of Exim Club, Vadodara.

"There is no indication how long the strike will go on. Industry and commerce are in trouble due to stubbornness of both the Central government and the transporters. The central government must come out with a solution quickly otherwise industries will have to face more losses in the days to come," said P M Rathod, secretary, Central Gujarat Chamber of Commerce (CGCC).

Meanwhile, various truck associations have started mobilising support from various commerce and industrial organisations. Representatives of Baroda Road Transport Association (BRTA) are meeting various associations' post holders to convey their issues in person.

"We are discussing our issues with various industrial bodies to mobilise the support from other industries. The issue of service tax on transport industry is not limited to our industry but it is also a concern for other industries," said P M Vaghela, president, BRTA.