The Sugarcane Vehicle Owners’ Federation in Tamil Nadu has called for an upward revision of freight charges and strict action to curb the overloading of vehicles used for transporting sugarcane, reported The Hindu.
According to the federation’s coordinators, around 10,000 heavy vehicles and nearly 6,000 tractors are currently involved in moving sugarcane to cooperative, public, and private sugar mills across the State. They pointed out that six-wheeler trucks, permitted to carry a maximum of 12 tonnes, were frequently overloaded with consignments of up to 20 tonnes per trip. This practice, they said, had resulted in frequent road accidents, mechanical failures, and damage to electricity infrastructure.
K. Moorthy, a coordinator of the federation, alleged that tractors meant exclusively for agricultural operations were being illegally modified with attachments and deployed for sugarcane transportation.
The federation also expressed concern over the low freight charges being paid. Vehicle owners currently receive ₹200 per tonne, which they said was economically unviable. They demanded that the rate be revised to at least ₹350 per tonne.
In a representation submitted to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, the federation urged the State government to step in and facilitate a revision of freight charges for sugarcane transport.
Another coordinator, S. Yuvaraj, said the federation had resolved to reject overloading of vehicles from February 1 onwards. He added that petitions had been submitted to various government agencies, including the Directorate of Sugar and the Transport Department, seeking enforcement action against overloading and a revision of freight rates.
