Tricity stranded as strikes continue

Long queues could be seen at petrol pumps throughout the day. With no word on when the strike will end,panicked residents queued up to get the tanks of their vehicles filled. As a result,most pumps in the tricity ran out of fuel and unruly scenes witnessed with the residents fighting over the precious last drops.

The transporters’ strike saw disruption of traffic on the Madhya Marg and a tussle among the transporters. Those on strike tried to stop the trucks that did not join their protest. There seems to be no immediate end to the strike in sight.

The grain market and vegetable market in Sector 26,meanwhile,remained shut for the second consecutive day. No trading took place and fresh stock was not allowed to enter the market or sold. Later in the evening,a decision was taken for the removal of the police checkposts from the markets,which was the issue that had instigated the strike. The markets will function from Friday.

Petrol pumps run dry

The nationwide indefinite strike called by the officers of the public sector undertakings,demanding an increase in their wages,has badly hit the supply of petroleum products to the tricity. Almost all petrol pumps ran completely dry on Thursday,the second day of the strike.

While industries and the dealers of petroleum products fear that the results may be disastrous if the strike continues,the executives gave no indication of calling it off.

“Out of the 42 petrol pumps in the city,only three are running. People are going to face a tough time if the strike is not called off,” said Amanpreet Singh,general secretary of the Chandigarh Petroleum Dealers’ Association. According to Singh,the total daily fuel supply to all petrol pumps in the city is around 700 kilo litres — 300 kl of diesel and 400 kl of petrol.

In Panchkula and Mohali,where the number of pumps is comparatively less,almost 98 per cent of them were closed after they ran out of stock.

“The strike will not only have an impact on petrol and diesel but also on cooking gas in the days to come,” said a senior marketing official at Indian Oil Corporation Ltd Chandigarh.

The situation is likely to worsen with the tanker operators joining the separate strike called by truckers.

Truckers’ strike on

The fourth day of the indefinite strike called by truckers was marked with unrest in the Transport Area. In an attempt to involve more truckers in the strike,the protestors stopped the trucks that were moving on the Madhya Marg,disrupting traffic for around half an hour. In the Transport Area,trucks were also not allowed to load any material. The situation was brought under control after the police intervened.

“There was a little disagreement among the truck drivers who tried to convince others to join the strike. An attempt was made to stop them from loading materials on to the trucks. This is routine,” said one of the members of the Chandigarh Transport Association.

The police,too,denied any untoward incident.

“A team reached the spot as soon as we got information of a traffic hold-up. Everything is under control now. Such incidents are normal during strikes,” said a senior officer.

The strike has hit the industries in the region as most of the raw material,including scrap,is supplied from the city. While the prices of essential commodities like vegetables and fruits have gone up in the wake of the strike,the situation is likely to worsen in the coming days.

Truckers went on an indefinite strike since Sunday midnight to press for reduction in diesel prices,exemption in service and toll taxes and a single permit for nationwide transportation among others.

Markets to open today

With the UT Administration issuing an order to remove the police checkposts from the entry and exit points of the grain and vegetable markets in Sector 26,traders have decided to end their protest and open the markets on Friday.

The decision was taken at a meeting between the traders and UT Administrator General S F Rodrigues (Retd) on Thursday evening.

Earlier,the traders continued their dharna against the setting up of checkposts at the markets. Traders from across the city had joined the protest,threatening to extend the strike to other parts of the city if the issue was not resolved soon.

The checkposts had been set up by the UT Administration at four entry and exit points of the market on January 1. Trading did not take place in the last two days as the shops remained closed.

There was,however,no scarcity of vegetables and fruits in the city with the Apni Mandis and retail outlets functioning as usual.

“The nakas were a hassle for the traders and the customers,causing traffic jams,” said one of the traders,adding that their demand was justified.

A section of the traders were,however,worried that the perishable goods in their stock might get spoilt if the strike continued.

They welcomed the UT decision to remove the checkposts.

Earlier,several political leaders visited the traders as they sat on a dharna. Prominent among them were BJP leaders Satya Pal Jain and Kamla Sharma,Congress leaders Devinder Singh Babla and H S Lucky. Besides a dharna,the traders also took out a procession in the market.