Talks fail, truckers stir on

BANGALORE:  Talks between truckers and the government on Wednesday failed with the former insisting the latter to give a written assurance on issuing temporary permit within a time-frame. While Home and Transport Minister R Ashok claimed that the government was more reasonable in agreeing to all the demands of the truckers, including reducing penalty and releasing all the trucks seized, lorry owners association president C R Shanmugappa, however, described the government’s assurance as a repetition of the empty promise made in the past.  “We will continue with our strike. The government has failed to give us any concrete assurance in writing,” Shanmugappa told reporters after the meeting with Ashok in the Vidhana Soudha. Ashok said the truckers were adamant as the government had agreed to all the four demands which include reducing the penalty for illegal transport of sand from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 25,000, releasing all the 60 trucks seized, issuing temporary permit for transportation of sand and withdrawal of cases filed against the truckers.