Assam petroleum workers' body decide to resume fuel transportation to Meghalaya
Guwahati (PTI): The Assam Petroleum Mazdoor Union (APMU) on Friday decided to resume transportation of fuel to Meghalaya, which it has suspended the previous day, following assurance of security of tankers and crew from the neighbouring state.
The transportation of all types of fuels was stopped by the apex petroleum workers' body in Assam following reports of attacks on vehicles from Assam in the aftermath of violence along the inter-state border killing six people.
"We have received assurance from the Meghalaya authorities that safety and security of the tankers, our drivers and other staff will be ensured. But we have also told them that if any untoward situation happens, we will immediately stop the vehicles once again," APMU general secretary Ramen Das told PTI.
Among other conditions under which the transportation has resumed are that till the situation 'normalises' in Meghalaya, loaded tankers will not be sent after dusk, he said.
"Also, we won't station any loaded tanker overnight in Meghalaya till the situation is better," Das added.
He said seven tankers with petroleum products have left for the neighbouring state from HPCL Betkuchi depot in Guwahati.
Das also said the Petroleum Dealers Association, Meghalaya, (PDAM) has also assured of its cooperation in ensuring smooth supply of fuel to the state.
In a letter to the APMU on Friday, the PDAM general secretary requested the workers' body of Assam to resume the supply in view of the assurance given by the Meghalaya government.
"As always we assure to assist your Union and the Govt of Meghalaya if some untoward incident happens with the tanker crew," the letter said.
At least five vehicles from outside Meghalaya have been burnt down in different parts of the hill state since the violence on Tuesday, besides several cases of stone pelting being reported. No person has been hurt yet.
No damage was caused to any fuel carrying tankers, but the APMU had decided to stop sending the vehicles on Thursday as a precautionary measure.
Two police vehicles were torched in Shillong after a protest was staged against Tuesday's violence late on Thursday.
At various points to enter Meghalaya from Assam, including at Guwahati, Assam Police personnel on Friday continued barricades and advised people not to go inside the hill state in a vehicle bearing number plate from Assam.
Six people, including a forest guard, were killed in the violence in West Karbi Anglong district along the inter-state border in the early hours of Tuesday, after a truck allegedly transporting illegally-felled timber was intercepted by forest personnel of Assam.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
