Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur (SP)

Kundapur, Aug 12: After a technical snag was found in the weigh bridge located at Ottinene near Byndoor here resulting in wrong recording of weights of ore-laden trucks, more than 500 ore trucks got stranded at Ottinene on the district border. Heated arguments took place between the truck owners and officials on this count on Monday August 11.

During the last two days, more than 300 trucks, found to be excessively loaded, were denied permission to move on. The owners of the trucks, who came to Ottinene to enquire about the problem, found that the weigh bridge had some technical fault. During the exchange of strong words between the truck owners and officials, more than 500 truck drivers congregated around the weigh bridge, giving rise to tense moments.

The truck owners said that they are penalized at the bridge for carrying excessive load at Ottinene, while the loaded trucks weigh much lower, during the routine verification at Mangalore weigh bridges. This results in heavy losses, by way of fine at Ottinene and for the weight loss found at Mangalore, they explained. They wanted immediate steps to be taken to set right the problem.

Byndoor special tahsildar Shiva Gowda who rushed to the spot said that steps will be taken to correct technical problems the weight bridge might face occasionally and asked the truck owners to cooperate with the district administration.

District reserve police, Kollur police station in-charge and members of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike were present during deliberations. As large number of trucks lined on either side of national highway 17 at Ottinene, traffic was disrupted for a long time.