Himachal truckers block NH over dispute with Kiratpur Sahib union

Kiratpur Sahib, January 15

Members of the Bilaspur District Truck Operators Co-op Transport Society today blocked the Kiratpur Sahib-Una National Highway after a dispute with the Kiratpur Sahib Truck Operators Society, Dehni, regarding the loading of materials from Kiratpur Sahib. A large number of people were left stranded in the severe cold weather as a result of the blockade.

The dispute arose after members of the Kiratpur Sahib truck union staged a dharna on a link road, alleging that the Himachal Pradesh truck operators were overloading their vehicles with material, including coal, from Kiratpur Sahib for factories set up in Himachal Pradesh. This was not only affecting their business, but was also causing pollution in the area, the local truckers alleged.

The local truckers have already been up in arms against the HP truckers for more than six months due to a dispute over the loading of materials from dumps set up by a HP-based cement manufacturer. The firm hires truck operators of HP unions, which return to Himachal after unloading their goods in the Punjab.

Members of Bilaspur truck union’s Barmana branch claimed that the protest by the Kiratpur Sahib truckers was unjustified. They said the Kiratpur Sahib truck operators, instead of opposing them, should protest in front of the cement company’s plant in Himachal.

While authorities, including Anandpur Sahib SDM Mandip Singh Dhillon, tried to pacify the protestors and lift the blockade, both the unions were not ready to relent. The road was blocked till the filing of this report.