COIMBATORE: As fresh talks with oil companies failed, the LPG tankers stayed off the road on the first day of an indefinite strike on Thursday against the new contract rules.

Transportation of around 15,000 tonnes of gas from 11 refineries in six states comprising Mangalore, Palakkad, Cochin, Chennai, Thoothukudi and Vishakapattinam, to bottling units has been hampered every day. Over 5000 drivers are jobless due to strike,” said K Sundararajan, president of the Southern Region Bulk LPG Transport Owners Association.

The association, headquartered in Namakkal and comprising tankers from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Puducherry, transports LPG gas cylinders from refineries of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum to the bottling units.

The association claimed that if their strike continues, there may be a shortage of LPG gas cylinders to households in six states, including Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, talks between the association representatives and oil companies in Coimbatore on Thursday evening failed to reach a consensus.