Floods hit transport biz in western India

NEW DELHI: Floods in the west and south have severely hit the transportation business, with the Surat-Baroda belt in particular bearing the brunt where about 50,000 trucks have been stranded.

"Almost 50,000 trucks are stranded in this (Surat-Baroda) industrial and commercial belt of Gujarat. Trucks numbering 4,000-5,000 with cargo have been submerged in flooded areas," a statement by the Indian Foundation for Transport Research and Training (IFTRT) said.

Over 600 warehouses stocking consignors' cargo are in flood waters in Surat, causing losses to the tune of Rs 80-100 crore, it added.

The industrial activity in Surat-Baroda belt has been severely crippled, bringing to a halt production and despatches from textile, pharma and petrochemical industries and dislocating the movement of edible oils and pulses, it said.

IFTRT said as a result of the floods, truck rentals on major routes have gone down by three-four per cent and the trucks stranded in the flood hit areas are incurring losses on account of loan installments on truck finance, road taxes and motor insurance.

Trucking business on the Marathwada and Vidharba region of Maharashtra has also been curtailed by nearly 20-25 per cent, the foundation said.

Heavy movement of trucks toward safe destinations in parts of Karnataka bordering Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, has generated extra supply of good carriages on these routes, resulting in four-five per cent drop in freight rates, it said.