The indefinite protest by Trinamool Congress firebrand Mamata Banerjee in Singur has become a cause of concern for thousands of truckers stranded on the Durgapur Expressway.
Representatives of several truck associations met Trinamool leaders in Singur to discuss the issue, after meeting Subhash Chakraborty, transport minister West Bengal, today.
According to Shyamal Dasgupta of Truck Owners' Association of Bengal, on about 62 km stretch between Palsit and Panagarh about 1,000 trucks are stuck, and acute shortage food and water have added to the problems of those operating them.
The truckers are not able to ply on Delhi raod, via a diversion at Memari, because of bad condition of the roads and increased petrol requirement.
According to informal estimates by the association, the total loss of truckers will be in the range of Rs 1.50 crore to 2 crore so far. Some of the trucks also contained inflammable materials like gas tankers, apart from perishable items like vegetables and fruits, mostly from the north east, and electrical equipment from Delhi.
Dasgupta also warned of increase in prices of vegetables, fish and fruits in Kolkata in the coning months, if the agitation continued. "The entire highway has converted into a parking place, " he said.
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Meanwhile, the truckers' association are hopeful that Nano rolls out of Singur soon, as the Calcutta Goods Transport Association is planning to build its own truck terminal near the area, on 150 acre land, with a parking facility of 2,000 trucks.
According to Raja Roy, honorary general secretary of Calcutta Goods Transport Association, the terminus is being built keeping in view of the huge requirement of trucks once Nano rolls out of Singur.
Once operational, the daily requirement of trucks in the plant could exceed 1,000 per day, Roy said.