Hyderabad: Owners Oppose Illegal Diversion of Lorries
The Telangana Lorry Owners Association and drivers told Deccan Chronicle that, anticipating such action, they had submitted a representation to transport commissioner K. Surendra Mohan and the DGP, outlining the hardships faced by lorry owners and drivers each year during the operations.
Hyderabad: Truckers have raised objections to what they called the illegal detention and forced diversion of their vehicles for paddy transport during the paddy procurement season. The state government is set to begin paddy procurement from October 1 at 8,332 centres, including Indira Kranthi Patham (IKP) units, across the state.
The Telangana Lorry Owners Association and drivers told Deccan Chronicle that, anticipating such action, they had submitted a representation to transport commissioner K. Surendra Mohan and the DGP, outlining the hardships faced by lorry owners and drivers each year during the operations.
The association said the civil supplies department enters into agreements with approved contractors to move paddy from IKP centres and agricultural market societies to rice mills and warehouses. It is the contractors’ responsibility to arrange a sufficient number of lorries for the purpose. “When contractors fail to provide them, officials forcefully detain our vehicles and divert them for this purpose,” the association alleged.
The association explained that during the Kharif and Rabi seasons, lorries already engaged in transporting sand, bricks, steel, foodgrains, pulses, sugar and other commodities are stopped on public roads and forcibly diverted. Vehicles from neighbouring states, including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and West Bengal, are also being commandeered.
Drivers, they said, are forced to wait for 5–10 days at rice mills and warehouses without food, water or basic facilities, leading to health issues. Owners suffer losses as vehicles remain idle, while they still must pay insurance, road tax, fitness fees and monthly EMIs. The association urged the government to ensure that paddy-loaded lorries are unloaded at rice mills and warehouses on the same day to avoid unnecessary delays.
Info Graph:
· Paddy procurement begins on October 1, 2025
· 65.96 lakh acres under paddy cultivation
· Estimated production: 159.15 lakh metric tonnes
· Government procurement target: 35 lakh metric tonnes
· Each bag: 75 kg
· Each lorry: 60 bags