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Vegetable prices rise as transport strike continues

Vegetable prices shot up in markets across the country as the stand-off between the government and truckers over the increase in diesel prices continued for the third day today.

Though the Centre and the striking All-India Motor Transport Congress met for talks, no agreement was reached. At the end of the 45-minute meeting, officials of the surface transport ministry and the AIMTC representatives merely expressed the hope that they would meet again.

The government agreed to look into the transporters' problems, but said there could be no rollback in diesel prices.

In separate interactions with reporters today, Union finance and petroleum ministers Yashwant Sinha and Ram Naik also ruled out a change in the government's stand. The price increase was inevitable with the rise in oil prices in the world market, they said, and called the truckers' action anti-people and unjustified.

The prices of essential items, meanwhile, continued to creep up -- due to panic buying, hoarding and shortages. Movement of goods was badly hit in various states, affecting related sectors, reports received in New Delhi said.

The Confederation of All-India Traders, the apex body of trade associations and federations, said trading activity to the tune of Rs 10 billion had been affected and the government had lost revenue worth tens of millions of rupees. Expressing grave concern, it called upon the warring parties to resolve the issue through talks.

Even though state governments tried to maintain essential supplies, fruit and vegetable prices soared in almost all states barring West Bengal, Bihar and Himachal Pradesh. In Kerala, which is heavily dependent on supplies from neighbouring states, prices went up by 50-100 per cent.

In Bangalore, seven lorry drivers were arrested today for trying to stop tempos from plying. Petrol bunks in the city were reporting shortages and only four truckloads of vegetable arrived against the normal 75-80.

Nearly 30 million eggs from poultry farms in Namakkal near Salem, mill cloth and crackers were waiting to be transported in southern Tamil Nadu. Construction works were badly affected as trucks engaged in transporting sand and blue metal were also on strike.

In Ujjain, traders were planning to stop purchases from soyabean farmers since heavy stocks had piled up. Fishermen, who use diesel to fuel their boats, joined the protest in Maharashtra.

The AIMTC, meanwhile, described the strike as "100 per cent successful". Regretting the prime minister's statement that there would be no rollback in the diesel price increase, AIMTC secretary-general J M Saksena said they had sought an appointment with Vajpayee on October 20, but it was yet to be granted.

UNI

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