Adani Cement succeeds in reducing freight charge: Stand-off ends

Adani Cement succeeds in reducing freight charge: Stand-off ends

The top Indian business house Adani Group has partially succeeded in making thousands of truck operators engaged in the transportation of cement in Daralaghat of district Solan and Barmana of district Bilaspur, agree, operate on a decreased freight from the existing.

Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and Adani Group have claimed that the dispute has been resolved in the talks held with the government in the capital today.

However, no official statement was issued by the operators in this regard till evening. It was claimed that the operators have agreed to these new rates.

In a release issued by a company spokesperson on behalf of the Adani group, it has been stated that the freight rates for single axle trucks for ACC Cement factory in Barmana and Ambuja Cement factory in Daralaghat have been fixed at Rs 10.30 per ton per kilometer.  Earlier, this freight was 11. 41 ton let km in Barmana.  While at Ambuja it was Rs 10.58 tpkm.

Now the truck operators in Barmana would be paid Rs 1.11 tpkm less freight and operaters of Daralghat would have to bear the loss of 28 paise tpkm.

On the other hand, freight charges for multi axle trucks have been fixed at Rs 9.30 paise tpkm in both the factories (Darla and Barmana).

In the release issued by Adani, it has not been disclosed how much freight was fixed earlier for multi axle trucks.  According to the operators, there has been a considerable reduction in the freight charges at Barmana.

Talking to the media after the talks, Chief Minister Sukhu claimed that the company management has agreed to the new freight rates due to  government’s mediation and continuous negotiations.

The factory management has given its consent to resume cement production from tomorrow and truck operators have also agreed to transport.

The Chief Minister said that Principal Secretary Industries and other officers would decide a formula for matters related to the annual increase in freight rates.

Apart from this, instructions have been given to the Deputy Commissioners of Solan and Bilaspur districts to solve other problems of truck operators and they will ensure the solution with the management of the company.

He said that this dispute came to the fore only after 5 days of the state government assuming power and the cement factory management announced to stop the production.  Truck operators went on strike on 16 December.  The state government continued to hold talks with truck operators and factory management.  After  change of ownership at the cement factories, the management was not agreeable to provide freight at old rates, due which, the dispute escalated.

He said that all the stakeholders involved in this dispute were being harmed.  While there was economic loss due to stoppage of cement production in the state, truck operators, truck drivers and conductors, local people involved in repair of vehicles and other works, dhaba operators etc. thousands of families were also going into financial crisis. In view of the situation, the state government made continuous efforts to solve this matter taking a humanitarian approach.

Sukhu said that the state government has a clear belief that along with truck operators, the interests of the families of the employees working there and those indirectly employed around the factory should be protected.

Also, the State government was not in favor of causing loss to the factory management, he added.

The meeting was attended by Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sanjay Awasthi, Principal Media Advisor to the Chief Minister Naresh Chauhan, Bilaspur Truck Operators Union President Rakesh Thakur and other representatives and Solan District Truck Operators Union President Jaidev Kaundal and other representatives.  Manoj Jindal and Sanjay Vashisht attended the meeting on behalf of Adani Group.