Garment lorries on 3-day strike against overloading

In a cause for concern, garments and textile products are likely to get piled up ahead of Deepavali as Tamil Nadu State Lorry Owners Federation has gone on protest over the overloading issue.

“Drivers face unnecessary harassment from police, if caught for overloading and were forced to cough up a hefty fine ranging from Rs 20,000 to 25,000 for the offence. Police in Tamil Nadu are more vigilant in stopping trucks to check for overloading. In fact, the drivers are helpless as the manufacturers forcefully dump larger volume of goods in lorries with an eye on profit during transportation,” said R Vangili, secretary of Tamil Nadu State Lorry Owners Federation.

More than 3,000 lorries transporting textile goods have stayed off the roads on Thursday, whereas lorries transporting other goods are operated as usual.

“The decision to protest turned out to be a last resort for lorry owners after textile manufacturer associations failed to adhere to loading norms despite informing them of our concerns during multiple meetings,” he added.

Meanwhile, the stock in Tirupur, Erode and Coimbatore and from other centres across the state are likely to pile up due to the strike.

“It may impact business in the knitwear hub of Tirupur as finished garments could not be sent for shipments either through seaports or airports. Also, stoppage of vehicles from garment units to job working units for knitting, dyeing, compacting, printing, embroidery, checking, ironing and packing will take toll on production during crucial Deepavali season,” said R Dinesh Kumar, a garment exporter.