Mysore, July 24 (SH&MRS)- In a challenging tone, lorry owners who are on strike have sought to know how works relating to the ensuing Dasara festival will be completed if the strike continued.

"The District In-charge Minister has called for the Dasara Festival preliminary meeting on July 31. Works relating to the festival are to be completed on a war-footing. Therefore, the government should resolve the issues of the lorry owners transporting sand or other building materials early," said B. Kodandaramu, President, Lorry Owners Association of Mysore.

As the contractors of sand mining are not issuing permits, lorry operators are facing hardship, said Kodandaramu adding that the involvement of influential politicians, high-ranking officials and also Police officers was the main reason for the tangle.

The contractors were violating rules for the lure of money and the lorry operators were forced to pay for the acts of the contractors, Kodandaramu said.

The building construction industry is incurring heavy losses due to the lorry strike. Labourers working in this sector have been driven to streets. Similarly, wage-earners dependant on sand transport also have been made to struggle for a livelihood, he added. Lorry owners of Bangalore are all set to begin strike shortly, disclosed Narayanappa, Secretary, Karnataka Lorry Owners Association.

The government is contemplating adopting the Tamil Nadu system in sand mining. That system consists of Public Works Department itself doing the mining and loading lorries. Irregularities can be prevented by this system, Narayanappa remarked.

Courtesy : Star Of Mysore