The Hindu

• 800 lorries were stranded in Udupi for the third day as the ban has not been lifted 
• Officials have failed to explain why entry of lorries was banned
• The load of iron ore carried by each lorry is less than 16 tonnes
• The North Karnataka Lorry Owners' Association submitted a memorandum at the Deputy Commissioner's office 

Udupi, Aug 2: About 800 lorries were stranded here on Tuesday as the clash between the district administration and North Karnataka Lorry Owners Association continued for the third day after the district administration banned the entry of iron ore lorries into Udupi district.

Starting point

Addressing presspersons here, the president of the North Karnataka Lorry Owners Association, Shashidhar Koravi said the iron ore lorries had started from Hospet. They had all the documents including the weight of the freight being carried. The cargo of iron ore carried by each lorry is less than the stipulated 16 tonnes.

No explanation

Yet the administration has banned the entry of the lorries. The district administration and the officials of the Regional Transport Office have failed to explain why their entry was banned, he said.

The cargo being carried by them had to reach the Mangalore port within 24 hours after it was loaded at Hospet. He said that the Association had already sent a fax message to the offices of the Chief Minister H.D. Kumarswamy and the District in-charge Minister V.S. Acharya.

He said that district administration was not taking any action against other overloaded lorries or tankers.

The least the administration could do was allow us to reach Mangalore.

Traffic blocked

The members of the North Karnataka Lorry Owners Association blocked the traffic on National Highway-17 at Shiroor demanding that the lorries be allowed to go to Mangalore.

Procession

They shouted slogans against the Udupi district administration.

Later in the evening, the association took out a procession in Udupi city.

They also submitted a memorandum at the Deputy Commissioner's office.