Says hit by lack of permits for using non-village roads
PANAJI
Truck Owner Association of Sesa Mining, the body representing the interests of truckers engaged in ferrying iron ore in the region, has expressed deep concerns over the non-issuance of permits by the Directorate of Mines and Geology (DMG) for the use of non-village roads including national/ state highways & Major District Roads (MDR).
Owing to this there have been significant disruptions to ore transport operations, severely impacting the livelihoods of truck owners who have invested heavily in repairs and maintenance of truck, anticipating long term operations following the resumption of mining.
In response to the non-receipt of permits, the association has stated that the route proposed to be used for transporting of ore from Bicholim Block 1 will utilize an approximately 7-kilometre road stretch to reach the Sarmanas Jetty, with only 0.9 km designated as MDR-20 and it completely avoids any village or village road. According to the Trucker Owners’ Association, ore carrying trucks will be crossing the Maem-Bicholim road at only one point, covering 10-15 metres only. This route has been adopted previously as well and has been in use for over 4 decades.
Subhash Kinalkar, President, Truck Owner Association of Sesa Mining, said: "The non-receipt of permits from DMG are severely impacting the livelihoods of truck owners and workers. Mining has just recently resumed in Goa after a long ban, and truckers have already invested a significant amount of money in repairing and maintaining these trucks. This issue will undoubtedly impact their livelihoods and the survival of their families, as well as the families of those other mining dependants. We urge the DMG to be sympathetic towards our deteriorating condition as all truckers are collectively incurring a loss of approx Rs 10 lakh per day."
The Association has requested DMG to take a humanitarian and balanced view in the matter and has urged the government and all involved agencies to consider the impact on their financials and long- term viability of business.
MDR 20 route has been used since the 1980s for transportation of ore by transporters and during the time that mining was being carried out, necessary maintenance, widening work, concretisation of drainage, and dust suppression measures were undertaken by the concerned operators.
The Truckers’ Association is hopeful that the DMG will accord the necessary permissions for ore transportation and take a positive view of the situation in view of the severe impact on the livelihoods and financial condition of the thousands of mining dependents.
