Viramgam weighbridge is faulty, allege salt makers

Salt manufacturers' body says it will be forced to stop loading rakes

The salt industry of Gandhidham has threatened to stop loading railway rakes if the weighbridge at Viramgam is not set right. They allege that the weighbridge is faulty and that salt manufacturers are being charged a heavy penalty for overloading.

Bachubhai Ahir, president of the Kutch Small Scale Salt Manufacturer's Association, said: "We will stop loading rakes if the railways continues to charge unlawful penalty in the name of excess loading from us. The entire weighing process in Viramgam is faulty and is not checked by authorities properly."

The printed weight of empty wagons before they come to Gandhidham for loading is incorrect. The offloading of excess weight is also faulty -- the weight differs from one weighbridge to another, Ahir added.

He said that even within a train, separate bogies weigh differently and even if a rake is loaded two tonne less than the total capacity of 60 tonne, the weighbridge shows excess weight.

"We have to pay penal charges that is 100 times the actual cost of the offloaded cargo. Salt is a low priced commodity, therefore such behavior by the railways is more unbearable," said Hiralal Parekh, president of the Indian Salt Manufacturers Association (Isma).

"The railways charges Rs 20 per kilo as overweight penalty, In addition, salt manufacturers have to pay an additional penalty of Rs 4000 per hour to offload the overloaded salt," said Parekh.

However, Arvind Khare, divisional railway manager of Western Railway, argued that the Viramgam weighbridge is checked every 15 days by the weigh and measure department of the state government.

About the penalty being levied, Khare said the charge is decided by the Central government and has nothing to do with the Western Railway, he added.

Other industries such as Iffco are also facing a similar problem of penalty charges for overweight wagons. "We are facing a severe problem from the railways owing to the unjustified penal charges for overloading of commodities," a senior Iffco official said.

Gujarat produces over 10 million tonne of salt per annum, half of which is in Kutch alone. The district accounts for over 60 per cent of India's total salt production. The state has approximately 3,000 small salt producing units.

Salty dispute

• Salt manufacturers claim the railways is charging unlawful penalty in the name of excess loading
• They allege the weighing process in Viramgam is faulty and is not checked by the authorities. However, railway officials refute the claim.
• The railways charges Rs 20/kg overweight. Salt makers have to pay another Rs 4000/hour to offload overloaded salt