Trucker’s strike Day 3: prices spiral

“It is true that whatever stocks of essential commodities we have as buffer will last only till Saturday or at the most Sunday. After that there is a high probability of commodity prices to shoot up,” said Raja Ray,general secretary,Calcutta Goods Transport Association.

Nearly 70 per cent of trucks in West Bengal remained off the roads while none of the 15,000 trucks,scheduled to go out of the state daily,moved on the third day of the nationwide strike on Wednesday. The main demand highlighted in the strike is to reduce the prices of diesel,tyres,lubricants and other products.

“We know that the strike will cause inconvenience to people as it has the possibility of increasing the prices of commodities in the market. But the demands to reduce diesel and other expenditures will decrease the transportation costs which will in turn help in reducing the cost of products on the shelf,” said Ray.

Essential commodities like fish come from South India,onion from Nasik,foodgrain from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh while chillies come from Andhra Pradesh,spices from Gujarat,Orissa and Kerala,edible oil from Haryana,Punjab and Rajasthan,and fruits like banana and orange,from Nagpur. Since the strike is nationwide none of these trucks are entering the state.

“Already some commodities are being sold at a higher price because of the threat of the strike and if it continues then prices are likely to go up further,” said Mahesh Singhania of the Federation of West Bengal Traders Association.

On the other hand,some like Posta Goods Transport Operators Association,which covers 5 to 6 per cent of the total numbers of trucks in West Bengal,has been plying trucks within the state but it threatens to join the strike if the protest movement becomes weak.

“Though we support the cause,we have been running trucks to Durgapur,Malda,Kharagpur so that the commodities that we received before the strike from outside states,do not perish.

But if the strike becomes weak in future,we will join it,” said Sanjay Upadhaya,president of the Posta Goods Transport Operator’s Association.