Truckers halt solution

Khanduri assured that the Government was willing to talk. Of the 10 demands made by the truckers, seven were already acceptable to the Government.

On the issue of diesel prices, the Government, Khanduri said, was ready to consider the demand and was ready to address the issue of lower loading with state governments. But he ruled out any compromise on the demand for abolition of toll tax on four-lane highways and cess on diesel.

Khanduri made a fresh appeal to the truckers to call off the stir which is costing the industry more than Rs 500 crore a day and exporters Rs 200 crore.

The squeeze on auto majors is telling: Kinetic and Ashok Leyland have already shut down plants and Hyundai is threatening to follow suit. In Pune, the automobile industry is feeling the heat with several companies conceding that production has been badly affected. Bajaj Tempo Ltd chairman Abhay Firodia confirmed that the strike had affected production, both at Akurdi in Pune and at the Indore plant.

‘‘We are reviewing the situation daily. As of now, production of vehicles has not stopped, but we may soon have to take a decision,’’ Firodia said. A spokesman of Tata Engineering said ‘‘we will be crippled in the next few days if the strike continues.’’

Jagdish Khattar, managing director of Maruti Udyog who was in Bangalore on Monday, said the company was running 25-35 per cent short of full capacity. Maruti’s plant near Delhi sources manufacturing inputs from different parts of the country which are mainly transported by road.

In Mumbai, a representative of the Maharashtra Truck Owners Association blamed rising prices of edibles on ‘‘unscrupulous traders who have been hoarding.’’ But in Gujarat, the industry has been hit hard. Shortage of raw material has had a crippling effect and exporters have been finding it tough to meet commitments. The dyestuff industry is also in trouble.

Bimal D Parikh of Associated Chemicals said: ‘‘About 75 per cent of the finished product of the dyestuff industry is exported. The strike has brought exports to a halt and movement of finished products in the country has stopped.’’

Ahmedabad Maskati Cloth Merchants Association president Jayendra Shah said cloth merchants were facing problems because ‘‘April and May is the season’’ to do business. ‘‘Not only has movement of finished material stopped but export orders of over Rs 35 crore have been held up.’’

Work in ports too has been hit. Ravindra Revankar, traffic manager at Kandla Port Trust, said export ordrs were not affected in the initial days of the strike because port officials were sending out ready consignments. ‘‘Now the strike has hit operations. Before the strike, the KPT was handling nearly 30,000 tonnes of exports and imports. It’s down to 25,000 tonnes and may go down further if this continues.’’

In Ludhiana in Punjab, the organised sector is struggling. V K Goyal, CEO of Vardhman Spinning Mills, said the company was unable to send out finished goods. The United Cycles Parts and Manufacturers Association said raw materials for the cycle industry were coming in from other states, leading to a decline in production.

At the Chennai Port Trust, movement of dry cargo has been badly affected. P K Abraham, CPT traffic manager, said: ‘‘Bulk cargo like coal, iron ore and granite is carried by the railways. The impact of the strike is being felt in the case of container cargo.’’

Another cause for worry is practically no export vessel is leaving for the Andamans, supplied from Chennai and Vizag ports. ‘‘LPG and goods such as cement and steel leave from Chennai port. From Vizag, ration goods, rice, pulses are supplied. One wonders what’s happening in the Andamans,’’ he said.