Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Jul 31: A large number of trucks loaded with iron ore have been stranded at Ottinene on the border of Udupi district, after their entry into that district was banned. Now, after the Dakshina Kannada district administration banned their entry, over 500 trucks have reached Gundia on the border of Dakshina Kannada district with Hassan, where they have been parked haphazardly.

The ban had been given wide coverage in newspapers. But the truck operators seem to be hoping that they would find some way out to reach the local port. In the past too, the trucks had moved through village roads and other connecting roads to reach the city when a main road was blocked by protesters. While it is true that the truck drivers and cleaners suffer because of the fact that there is no proper provision for food and ablutions at the district borders, this also displays callousness on their part towards the measures being taken by the district administrations.

The drivers of these trucks refuse to go back and the efforts of the policemen to persuade them to retract, have failed. While the roads within the twin-districts have got a temporary reprieve from the movement of the ore trucks, the trucks seem to have been determined to create problems, whether they are moving or stranded, by contributing to the traffic chaos.