Tension at Bathinda refinery as ‘outsiders’, locals lock horns over transportation of goods

Prem Kumar Bansal, a contractor at the Refinery, alleged that around seven unidentified individuals stopped their trucks carrying sand and other construction materials from entering into refinery on July 7. “They threatened that they would not allow our trucks to enter the refinery. They also warned us that if we tried to send our trucks into the refinery, they would harm us,” he said in his complaint.

Bansal added, “I have a contract for construction work at the refinery. There has been a group that wants us to buy goods like sand, concrete from them at higher price than we what we have been paying in open market. After complaint to police, our trucks were released.

However, I have stopped transportation of material till the issue of properly resolved.”

It is not first time that such a complaint has been made. Truck operator Ashok Kumar Bansal from Ramsar had filed a complaint with the Bathinda police in November last year to allege that they were forced to pay Gunda tax for the transportation of goods to and from Refinery.

Meanwhile, local transporters claimed that they are not charging any gunda tax but seeking employment. Local transporters have opened an office near the refinery under banner.

Local truck operator Gulab Singh said, “We have been only trying to get employment. Around 400 to 500 trucks move in or out of refinery with goods daily. Most of these trucks and their drivers belongs states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra. The local truck operators don’t get job opportunity because of this.”