As mineral transportation has come to a grinding halt in Odisha’s Sundergarh and Keonjhar districts due to a strike by transporters, the state government today said it would soon resolve the issue.
“The Transport Commissioner has submitted a report and freight rate would be fixed soon,” Commerce and Transport Minister Ramesh Chandra Majhi told reporters with the truckers’ strike entering the third day.
The truck and tipper operators in Sundargarh and Keonjhar districts have gone on strike over freight rate dispute among vehicle operators and transporters of various sponge iron industries.
Around 30,000 trucks and tippers in the two mineral rich districts have been on strike protesting against state government’s move to fix a ceiling on transport cost and award of transportation contracts through the e-tendering process.
The strike has led to a halt on despatch of about 2 lakh tons of iron ore per day. The state receive about Rs 12 crore per day towards royalty.
Prasanta Patnaik