Truckers strike off

NAMAKKAL: The indefinite strike by lorry owners came to an end on Tuesday following an agreement reached between the truckers’ association and the Centre on the contentious issue of toll fee.An announcement on the withdrawal of the strike was made by leaders of the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) in New Delhi on Tuesday after the end of the talks with the officials of the Ministry of  Road Transport and Highwa ys.Speaking to Express over phone from New Delhi,  K Nallathampi, president of the State Federation  of Lorry Owners Associations-Tam il Nadu (SFLOATN), said that the strike was called off following an agreement sig ned with Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.Gopal Naidu, president of the South India Motor Transporters’ Welfare Association (SIMTA) told Express, “The Ministry accepted to extend a 50 pc discount in the toll for vehicles with local registration in all highways which were being maintained by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI)”.94 toll plazas According to the agreement reached during the talks, “The Ministry has agreed, in principle, to the demands of AIMTC for issuing notifications in respect of approximately 94 public funded projects which were completed before January 12, 2011, for implementing new toll rates. The process for issuing notifications will be completed as soon as possible”.   This was stated in a release issued by the AIMTC here late in the evening.Sources in the AIMTC told that the officials remained non-committal on the demand for reducing the toll fee collected on highways which were being maintained by private companies.