This Article is From Mar 04, 2012

LPG transporters strike: Tripartite talks inconclusive

Chennai: The tripartite talks to end thetwo-day old strike by bulk LPG transporters in southern statesremained inconclusive today as the truckers sought time tillMonday to take a decision on the offer by oil marketingcompanies to increase the per km rate marginally.

Emerging from the marathon six-hour long talk that endedaround midnight, Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Consumer ProtectionCommissioner M T Basheer told reporters that the OMCs offeredto increase the transportation charge from Rs 2.23 per tonneper km to Rs 2.50.

But the representatives of the truckers said they need todiscuss the offer among their association members and soughttime till Monday evening to convey their decision, he said.

Representatives of OMCs, including Indian Oil Corporationand Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, and Southern Region bulkLPG Transport Association, which is spearheading the strike,the second since January, took part in the talks held in thepresence of Basheer and other state government officials.

Association President M Ponnambalam said their demand wasRs 3.50 per km per tonne and hence they wanted to discuss theOMCs' offer with their office-bearers in Namakkal.

The tripartite talks were convened today in the backdropof senior executives and representatives from IOC and BPCLmeeting Chief Secretary Debendranath Sarangi yesterday amidconcerns that the latest stir is likely to hit domestic LPG,limping back to normalcy after the January strike.

In January, the association had withdrawn their seven-dayold stir after talks. But claiming that the assurances madethen on their demands had not been honoured, they went on thelatest strike since March 1.

The association operates about 3,700 tanker lorries infour southern states, including Puducherry, besides Goa.
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