Truckers, Govt resume talks; operators deny rift

quot;We have discussed some issues and will continue discussing,quot; road transport secretary Ashoke Singh told reporters after the two-hour meeting. AIMTC secretary general J M Saksena told PTI talks were likely to resume on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, State Principal Secretary Transport Suresh Chandra claimed the withdrawal of support of nearly 300 truckers from the strike, while the truckers union blatantly denying the same. Supply of essential commodities limped back to normalcy in Maharashtra with 50 per cent more goods transport transport vehicles plying in the State compared to Monday.

Addressing a pressconference, Chandra said that nearly 300 trucks of an association have agreed to withdraw from the strike provided they are given adequate security by the state government. Refusing to name the association, Chandra said that the truckers have opted out since the government has agreed to let them increase their freight rates and also since they were having to bear losses on day to day basis.

He added that the name of the association will be declared when they meet the state chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Wednesday and officially declare their decision and added that the State Government will be committed to provide them with total security for the same. It may be recalled that since the last three days nearly 30 truckers and cleaners were injured and 50 trucks were damaged while carrying essential commodities to various parts of the city, by none other than fellow truckers supporting the strike.

Meanwhile, president of the Bombay Goods Transport Assn R K Jain brushed aside as baseless and incorrect,claims that the ongoing strike has lost its steam and certain associations have withdrawn from the strike. The stalemate continued in other states too as government and operators made claims and counter-claims.