The truckers strike which had hit the movement of goods in the City, however, has improved now, with only one rake pending at the Satellite Goods terminal at Whitefield.
Consignments of foodgrains and cement, stranded inside the rakes since February 23 due to the non-availability of labour have now been moved to the Central Warehousing Corporation. The labour force has started reporting for duty from the following date, said SWR chief PRO P S Dasarathi.
But transportation of goods in other railway stations took a novel turn! At the Harihar station which falls under the Mysore division of SWR, bullock carts are being utilised in a big way to transport cement bags to their destinations due to the absence of lorries, he said. However, other railway stations in South Western Railway continue to bear the brunt of the truckers strike, he said.
I R Pasha, president of Bangalore Fruit Commission Agents Association said, merchants/ traders have also been affected due to the ongoing stir.
The APMC yard in Yeshwantpur also felt the brunt of the strike with losses due amounting to Rs 30 crore as outward movement of goods came to a halt. However, trucks which were carrying pulses, wheat and sugar arrived on Monday.
The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation has begun operating 300 additional services on the Outer Ring Road and Electronic City, ITPL etc to cater to increased demand. of software and corporate firms.
Chief Traffic Manager (Operations) Dastagir Sherieff said, the State run corporation is also coordinating with railway authorities to provide direct connectivity from all major railway station in the city for the convenience of train passengers. “We have also routed our Volvo buses plying from Whitefield into the HAL airport and pressed into service additional mobile squads,” he said.
