With the Darjeeling district Truck Owners Association (DTOA) strike already underway from Monday onwards, they have now threatened to stop plying their vehicles carrying petrol and gas from Saturday onwards and those carrying water from Monday onwards if their demand of re-opening quarries in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) area is not met.
The ongoing key down strike has already affected goods carrying trucks and pick up van’s movement from Siliguri to Darjeeling and vice versa.
The DTOA President, Manna Trikhatri said, “On 6th February we had given a memorandum to the Darjeeling DM and the GTA chief executive about the issue of river banks in the GTA area being closed and we not being able to lift sand and pebbles from there. On 11th February again a meeting had been called at Siliguri where different officials were present, but no solution came forward in it following which we started a key down from the 13th of February. Following that a meeting was again called by the district administration today which also did not yield any positive result.”
Trikhatri maintained that while their key down strike was being supported by different truck drivers and pick-up van associations, they have decided to hold a rally on Friday till Lalkothi where they will press for their demand.
Expressing their support to the DTOA, the Darjeeling Truck Drivers Association, general secretary, Chandan Chettri said that they will continue to support their future programs also. He said that the emergency services like trucks carrying petroleum, gas and water had been left out from the key down program but if Friday did not bring forward any result then from Saturday onwards petrol and gas trucks would remain closed. They would again wait to see the response of the administration and if no solution came forward, from Monday onwards water trucks would also stop to ply.
