The West Bengal Tanker Operators' Association is going on an indefinite strike from tomorrow, which could lead to petrol pumps in the state going dry by Sunday.
The association demanded that oil companies pay a haulage charge of Rs 2,400 per trip per tanker instead of the present Rs 1,300.
"At the present rate, our business is becoming un-viable. Therefore, we appealed to the oil companies to raise it to Rs 2,400, but they did not respond," Association general secretary Ajit Das said after a meeting with Transport Minister Subhash Chakraborty.
Das said his associations had organised meetings in front of the oil companies' offices on August 22, 24 and 28, but to no avail.
"We are, therefore, going for an indefinite strike from tomorrow," Das said, adding that the matter had been conveyed to the transport minister.
Chakraborty said he would hold talks with the oil companies to end the impasse.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal Petroleum Dealers' Association said the strike would affect availability of petrol and diesel in the petrol pumps from Sunday.
"Most petrol pumps in Kolkata are old and, therefore, have limited storage capacity. Stocks will last, at best, till Saturday. After that, most of the pumps will go dry," Association president Tushar Sen said.
{{/usCountry}}"Most petrol pumps in Kolkata are old and, therefore, have limited storage capacity. Stocks will last, at best, till Saturday. After that, most of the pumps will go dry," Association president Tushar Sen said.
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