Transporters are envying the competitors on rail for being out of the service tax net but the Railways are in distress too. Truckers’ loss is not their gain.In anticipation of the strike, companies had cancelled indents for booking cargo by rail. This was so since evacuation of goods from sidings is done by trucks. Senior officials said evacuation of goods has been severely affected especially in sidings in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Movement of all commodities especially of foodgrains, fertiliser and cement have been affected since sidings have not been cleared.“Clearing of foodgrain stocks has been a problem in Sholapur and Pune regions of Maharashtra while iron ore movement for exports in Orissa has also been hit,” said an official. Rake turnaround time increases when unloading is delayed. The Railways expect problem to aggravate if the strike is prolonged.
