The district Collector of Keonjhar has ordered a ban on mineral transport from April 5 to 20 in view of the general elections triggering an anti-BJD sentiment among a large section of the voters in Champua and Keonjhar Sadar constituencies.
“When only 24 mines out of 112 are working, thousands of labourers and lakhs of people connected with the transport industry are unemployed since a long time . The Naveen Patnaik Government has done nothing to reduce the sufferings of the affected poor people,” a local trade union leader alleged.
The mineral traffic has been banned during the day time for the last seven years and transportation was only allowed during the night time after 9 pm.
But by suspending the transport business for 15 days, it has made more than 40,000 labourers and another 20,000 people involved in the business starve without any income for the period. The people will never forgive the ruling BJD for creating such inconvenience and this will be reflected in the forthcoming polls, claimed Basudeb Naik, an Independent MP candidate.
The elections went on smoothly in 2004 and 2009 when the mineral transport was at its peak with more than 15,000 trucks plying each day. Hence, there was no need to ban mineral transport when the mineral traffic has already reduced during the current polls, observed the district truck owners association.
Meanwhile, the BJP and Congress candidates are trying their best to make an issue out of the order and woo the voters away from the BJD.
The ban order has already put a strain on mineral industries which will be affected due to the non transport of raw materials from mines to the plants adding heavy loss both to the companies and the Government exchequer, said sources.