The truckers and trailers strike in Chennai that began on December 20 could finally be withdrawn following a board meeting of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) over the weekend, the Times of India reported.
Industries in and around Chennai have lost over US$1 billion due to the ongoing strike by trailer operators at the Chennai port. Feeder operators are also reportedly making losses to the tune of $140,000 daily.
The Trailer Owners Association (TOA) decided not to move any containers to and from the Chennai port from the midnight of December 19, to draw the attention to the poor condition of Ennore-Manali road, which handles over 70 percent of the cargo. The 10-year-old Ennore-Manali road connectivity project is yet to see the light of the day.
Truckers and trailers association members will meet this week to decide the future course of action and the strike is likely to be withdrawn after the four-laning of the Ennore-Manali Road Improvement Project (EMRIP) was discussed at the board meeting.
An additional $413,123 has been sanctioned to expedite the road strengthening work that is currently taking place on the stretch. Earlier, the NHAI had sanctioned $929,527 for the work.
As of the weekend, over 11,000 import and export containers were stuck inside the port. On an average, 3,000 containers move in and out of the port. These containers carry mainly raw materials, components and machinery.
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