Textile Traders in Surat Reject New Parcel Weight Limits Imposed by Transport Association

Surat — In a strong response to the Surat Goods Textile Transport Association's (SGTTA) directive to stop accepting parcels weighing over 65 kilograms from September 1, a joint meeting was held on Saturday in the boardroom of the South Gujarat Textile Traders Association (SGTTA). The meeting included representatives from the South Gujarat Textile Traders Association, Aadhatiya Cloth Association Surat, Textile Yuva Brigade, and Millennium Market Textile Association (MMTA).

During the meeting, all participants unanimously opposed the new weight limit directive and refused to comply with it. The leaders argued that such directives often arise during peak business periods when some individuals seek to assert their leadership by introducing unnecessary complications. They acknowledged the importance of humane considerations but questioned why transporters could not invest in modern equipment to handle heavier parcels. They also criticized the transporters for not providing adequate benefits to their labor force, such as insurance or minimum wage.

The organizations reached a consensus that any transporter attempting to enforce the weight limit would be collectively boycotted, and their business would be redirected to other transporters willing to maintain the status quo. Some transport owners were contacted during the meeting, and they confirmed that they were not in favor of the contentious weight restriction. Several transporters also agreed to continue parcel bookings as before.

There was a call for traders to avoid packing parcels with excessive weight to maintain smooth operations.

Previously, a meeting had been held between the SGTTA, Aadhatiya Cloth Association Surat, and the transporters where a weight limit of 65 to 75 kilograms was discussed. The transporters had expressed concerns over some parcels weighing as much as 90 to 100 kilograms, which they deemed problematic. However, the situation escalated when the Transport Association unilaterally issued a new directive on their letterhead, leading to widespread discontent among the associations.

In light of these developments, the textile associations have reached out to various transporters to negotiate a return to previous practices, with many transporters agreeing to this. The meeting concluded with a request to traders to avoid packing parcels that exceed a reasonable weight.

The meeting was attended by several key figures, including SGTTA President Sunil Jain, General Secretary Sachin Agarwal, AKASH President Prahlad Agarwal, Kedar Agarwal, Mahesh Jain, Santosh Makharia, Sandeep Shah, Pradeep Kejriwal, Rajeev Omar, Pankaj Goyal, Sudarshan Matlahelia, Nitin Garg, Ram Khandelwal, Sunil Mittal, Surendra Jain, Shekhar Agarwal, MMTA's Kamlesh Jain, and Textile Yuva Brigade President Lalit Sharma, among others.