Southern India Truckers Strike Hits Surat Manmade Fabric Wholesale Market Hard

Industry news

Southern India Truckers Strike Hits Surat Manmade Fabric Wholesale Market Hard

The indefinite strike called by truck owners in South India to protest against the proposed 50% hike in the third party insurance premium has ended up hitting the country’s largest manmade fabric wholesale market in Surat (Gujarat) hard.

According to industry sources, Southern India is a big market for saris and dress material with the daily supply which amounts to more than Rs 30 crore. Out of the total four crore metres of fabric production in Surat, around 25% is meant for supplying South Indian markets including Chennai, Andhra Pradesh and Telengana.

Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association (FOSTTA) President Manoj Agarwal said that trucks are not going to southern states from Surat. All South India bound trucks have stopped and there is no truck movement from South India as well. Trucks with national permits have been diverted, he said.

He said that South India is a big market for Surat’s textile traders, adding that around Rs 35 crore worth of textile goods are usually sent to South Indian states per day, adding that the strike has affected the business of the traders in Surat.

Surat Textile Goods Transporters Association (STGTA) President Yuvraj Deshle said that it would not possible to take risks by accepting consignments of textile goods to South Indian states.

Meanwhile, the strike by truckers across South Indian states entered the sixth day after it began from the midnight of March 30 after a call given by the South India Motor Transport Association (SIMTA) to press for their various demands including the roll back of the increased premium for third party insurance, hike in penalty and toll fee.

To avoid a crisis situation in essential commodities, the district administrations across Southern India are learnt to be preparing to invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) against the striking truckers.

In a related development, Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister Tanveer Sait met striking truckers and urged them to transport essential commodities which arrived in trains to godowns.