The Southern Region Bulk LPG Transport Owners Association had recently gone on a strike demanding higher transportation charges from the public sector oil companies – Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPC). The strike was called off with the Government intervention for a peaceful settlement between the parties.
It is in this context that the views expressed by Mr. P. Natarajan, President of the Association, at an informal discussion on the challenges faced by the industry with MOTORINDIA assume special significance.
He said: “The transport industry which is always considered the backbone of the economy is in a really bad shape. We expect a lot of support in the form of subsidies from the Government. We can also realise some profit only if our vehicles run for at least 4,000 km.”
The Association was formed in 1988 with 120 members to address the problems faced by truck owners, like rental, loading preferences, etc. Today the membership has touched 1,200.
Commenting on the benefits derived by its members, Mr. Natarajan said there are about 3,250 LPG tanker lorries operating in the southern region. Issues like loading are taken care of by the Association in such a manner that not a single member is affected. “Almost 90 per cent of our members are from Namakkal. All our members have been covered with life insurance of up to Rs. 5 lakhs in case of accidental deaths and with a Public Liability Insurance (PLI). We also have our offices in Chennai and Mangalore.”
Mr. Natarajan hopes that the three-year tender from major oil corporations in the country would prove highly beneficial for the Association. This year witnessed some innovations like e-tender which is in the final stage. Due to the timely steps taken by the Association, it has got a reasonable hike of 7.66 per cent in the tender value. The increase in operational costs related to spares, driver salary, insurance and taxes also needs to be factored while arriving at the final rates. Almost 95 per cent of the trucks in the Association are from Ashok Leyland.
Owning 110 bulk LPG carriers, Mr. Natarajan has been taking care of the activities of the Association as its President for the past 18 months.