UltraTech & Adani Cement not honoring hike in freight: Truckers
Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government is going into a huddle with a new industrial dispute between UltraTech & Adani Cement and Truck owners as the latter are trying to galvanize for another agitation following not honoring hike promise of freight charges to them.
The truckers and their unions engaged in cement Transport business with Ultratech in Mangal and Adani Cement in Darlaghst and Barmana issued a warning about a possible confrontation blaming the corporate houses. According to the truck union despite the promise of a freight hike by the Former Jai Ram Thakur Government and current Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Cement companies are not honoring the same.
The former head of Baghal Land Loser Transport Co-operative Sabha, Dadla Ghat, Ramakrishna Sharma accused the present state government of stating that, the government had assured them during the recent shutdown in Bharmana and Daralaght cement factory to hike freight rates.
Earlier to this Mr. Nand Lal Chauhan, Legal Advisor of Baghal and Mangal Vikas Parishad had raised the demand for a hike in the freight charges of the truck operators engaged in the transportation of cement in Ultratech cement.
Truckers are galvanizing action against the state government and both Cement manufacturers as they are upset over the issue for last some time following a cut in the freight charges by Adani Cement recently and the subsequent shutdown.
Mr. Ramkrishna Sharma said that in lieu of the increase in the rates of diesel from Adani, they have given the promise to get an increase of 13 paise in the freight charges, but even after almost six months have passed, the government has not been able to make Adani Cement pay this increase to the operators.
Mr. Sharma urged Sukhu Government to immediately add this 13 paise increase to the freight rates to compensate for the increase in diesel prices.
He said that the common operator is facing a lot of disappointment and is dejected due to the reduction in fares of the operators under the pressure of cement manufacturers.
Reminding former BJP rule he said that the former Jairam government had also given a go-ahead to the increase in the freight rate for the transportation of cement for civil supplies by ten rupees 38 paise per kilometer per tonne, but the code of conduct proposed a hike could not be gotten nods of the former council of ministers. He said that the previous hike could not happen to date.
Blaming present dispensations responsible for their unrest Sharma said that many trucks of Darlaghat, which are also engaged in the transportation of civil supplies, should be increased immediately.
He revealed that the fares of civil supplies have not been increased for almost 10 years forcing the truck operators to bear heavy losses for delayed hikes by the government.
Sharma wants that if the hike is not done then the operator’s anger could erupt anytime leading to another movement after a gap of two months again.
Operators are of the view that this is the first government in Himachal Pradesh that helped corporate houses to reduce the freight as earlier there was no reduction in the transport fare during any government contrary it rather hiked from time to time.
The agreements between Cement manufacturers and truckers on the reduced freight rates are now brewing anger among truck operators inkling another big industrial dispute in the state.
Two-month shutdown in Darlaghat and Bharmana in the state ended on February 20, 2023, after over two months of closure as its dispute. According to agreements new freight rates for both the plants – at Gagal and Darlaghat have been fixed at Rs10.3 per tonne per km for single axle trucks of 12 tonnes. It was 11.41. pick at Bharmana and Rs 10.58 at Ambuja Cements ‘ Darlaghat. For the multi-axle 24-tonne trucks, the rate was now fixed at Rs 9.3 per tonne.
The new reduction in freight charges of 10-12 percent was about to extend toward cement customers of the state did not happen.
Darlaghat and Bharmana plants account for about 15 percent of the Adani Cement annual sales having a volume of production of about 7.5 million tonnes per year. Two units impact about 15000 people directly and indirectly.
