Police keep watch over confusion

VADODARA, Oct 27: Special police bandobast will continue to be in place at the Golden Chowkdi in view of the disruption in traffic by mem...

VADODARA, Oct 27: Special police bandobast will continue to be in place at the Golden Chowkdi in view of the disruption in traffic by members of the Baroda Road Transport Association and Youth Congress workers, Additional Commissioner of Police Geetha Johri told Express Newsline on Wednesday.

Tension also ran high among truckers8217; unions in Vadodara and Ahmedabad. The confusion was reflected on the national highway, where complete chaos reigned for a couple of hours.

The confusion carried over to the State level, where transporters insisted the strike was complete, but the authorities said the movement of industrial goods had returned to normal.

8220;The supply of export as well as industrial goods returned to normal all across the State today and the strike has fizzled out for all practical purposes8221;, Transport Commissioner Paneervel told Express Newsline. 8220;Truckers have resumed operations in Rajkot, Vadodara and Surat, as well as Palanpur, Deesa and Kandla port.8221;

Strongly denying all these developments, All-Gujarat Transporters8217; Association president Nandlal Thaper claimed the strike was total all across the State. He, however, conceded that barring outbound traffic there was no movement of industrial goods within the State today.

Meanwhile, State Civil Supplies director Arvind Aggarwal said the Government on Monday included potato, onion and other vegetables in the list of essential commodities under the Essential Commodities Act, but added that the order would be applicable only to wholesale vegetable dealers.

There was good news for vegetable-shoppers at Khanderao Market, where prices remained constant for the third day running. Traders said a fall in prices was imminent.

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Though fruits like apples, mausambi and pomegranates, which come from other States, continued to be sold for more than Rs 30/kg, there was absolutely no rise in the prices of common fruits like bananas, papayas and guavas.

According to Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee official R M Patel, district horticulture officer Dilip Bhatt and traders like Nishchint Patel and Bhupendra Patel, fruit prices, too, were likely to plunge in the run-up to Diwali.

The supply of all essential commodities, including LPG cylinders, kerosene, petrol and diesel, continued to be smooth; no rush was reported at any petrol pump in the city. District Supply Officer D G Khachar said the administration was minutely monitoring the situation.

The VMC8217;s octroi collection rose to around Rs 15 lakhs on Wednesday, up from a daily average of Rs 6 lakhs during the strike. Municipal officials, however, attributed the high figure to the clearance of some outstanding amounts.