No bookings, goods worth Rs 25 crore pile up

NAMAKKAL: Movement of goods worth Rs 25 crore has been hit after lorry bookings were fully stopped in the district from Thursday morning. The move comes in the wake of a truckers’ strike, called by the South Zone Motor Transporters’ Welfare Association (SZMTWA) in six States, including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.President of the Namakkal Lorry Booking Agents’ Association S Balachandran said booking of consignments was cancelled fully, which led to the piling up of goods, including cement, paper and egg. Almost all the 250 booking centres in the district remained closed, he added.Meanwhile, President of  the Tamil Nadu Lorry Owners’ Federation K Nallathambi scotched reports of withdrawal of the strike. Speaking to reporters in Namakkal  on Thursday, he said the SZMTWA would go ahead with the strike as planned earlier. “There is no question of calling off the strike. The talks held with the officials of the Union Ministry of Road Transport on Wednesday night did not reach at a solution. We will go ahead with the strike,” Nallathambi asserted.Nallathambi said almost one crore workers of the transportation industry would strike work from midnight.G R Shanmugappa, president of the All India Motor Transport Congress, told Express over phone that the association would accept nothing, but immediate implementation of the agreement signed in December 2010. The agreement provided for 50 per cent discount on toll to local vehicles and 25 per cent for empty ones.SZMTWA President Gopal Naidu also confirmed that there was no going back on the strike call. Meanwhile in Salem, the South India Motor Transport Association (SIMTA) on Thursday reiterated that there was no going back on the lorry strike.Addressing reporters, Federation of Tamil Nadu Lorry Owners’ Association President K Nallathambi and Treasurer Chennakesavan said some persons who were neither associated with the lorry trade nor the office bearers of the SIMTA and the federation have met officials and ministers and later announced that they would withdraw the strike.They claimed that the SIMTA and Federation of Tamil Nadu Lorry Owners’ Association were the true representatives of the lorry operaters and said 4.9 lakh lorries from the State would participate in the  stir.