Bangalore: Tankers on Indefinite Strike - LPG Supply May be Hit Across State

Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, Feb 29: South Zone LPG Tanker Owners Association has called for indefinite strike from 8 pm on Wednesday February 29, in protest against the failure of the government to fulfill its earlier assurances. During the earlier protest, the government had agreed to increase freight charges to Rs 3 per tonne per km as against the present Rs 2.45, said general secretary of the association, Shamnugappa.

The association expects that LPG shortage, both for homes and for vehicles, will be felt within a few days once the strike comes into effect.

It is learnt that Indian Oil Corporation gets its LPG supply through rail route, unlike other companies, which are dependent on tankers transported through road.

In a statement issued from Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, president of South Zone LPG Tanker Owners Association, M Ponnambalam, said that the oil companies had been urged to meet their earlier commitments through petitions earlier. “We had also indicated them that we will go on strike if they fail to keep their word. But there is no response. Hence we are compelled to agitate,” he explained.

The association has about 3,700 tanker owners as its members, who transport LPG through tankers from Mangalore and Visakhapatnam to four south Indian states in addition to Puducherry and Goa.