New IndPress

Kundapur, Aug 1: Owners, drivers and cleaners of manganese-laden lorries that were stopped at Shiroor border irrespective of the weight carried, on Monday afternoon gheraoed Udupi district BJP president and MLA K Raghupathi Bhat protesting against the ban.

Numbering around 3,000 they shouted slogans against District In-charge Minister V S Acharya and MLA Raghupathi Bhat.

At one stage, there were heated exchange of words between the truck operators and supporters of the MLA.

The supporters dared the truck operators who shouted slogans against the MLA, to come to Udupi, thinking they were from northern part of the State.

But when they came to know that the truck operators included the locals and members of the Kundapura Lorry Owners’ Association, they cooled down.

Meanwhile, a delegation of the Lorry Owners Association, along with their legal advisor, met Deputy Commissioner V Ponnuraj and urged him to lift the ban.

Speaking to press persons, members of the association said, ‘‘We want to know from the Deputy Commissioner under what law the 16-tonne manganese laden trucks were banned entry into Udupi district.

The district minister blames the manganese trucks for the poor state of the district roads. Let him inspect the roads in Hubli and Ankola where our trucks pass through. If those roads are not spoiled, why only roads in Udupi? They demanded that the DC allow them to at least unload the manganese at the NMPT, as they were not served prior notice.

Meanwhile, the truck operators’ meeting with the DC has been scheduled on Tuesday at 9.30 am. ‘‘If we are not allowed to continue the trip to NMPT to unload, we will sit on hunger strike at Shiroor as well as in front of the Office of the Deputy Commissioner’’, truck operators said.