KoPT may drop capital dredging plans, alleges HDBC, HDOF

The 'Haldia Dock Bachao Committee'(HDBC), an umbrella organisation that comprises five unions controlling employees and workers of the Haldia dock CITU, INTUC, AITUC and Hind Majdur Samiti, and the Haldia Dock Officers' Forum (HDOF), has alleged that the Kolkata Port Trust(KoPT) is mulling to drop its capital dredging plans in the face of escalated costs.

HDBC has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Calcutta High Court (HC) yesterday saying that the port has deliberately neglected dredging operations. R K Burman, secretary, Haldia Dock Officers' Forum confirmed that the PIL had been filed.

When contacted, sources in KoPT said that while the capital dredging costs had indeed escalated, according to revised estimates from the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), there were no plans as of now to drop the river regulatory measures or capital dredging initiatives at Balari Bar on the Haldia channel. "The revised cost of capital dredging is around Rs 936 crore and NIOT is scheduled to submit a detailed report in September this year", said a high ranking official at the port. When planned originally, the capital dredging costs were estimated to be around Rs 300 crore and it was later revised by the Public Investment Board (PIB) in 2007 to around Rs 421 crore.

Haldia Dock Officers' Forum pointed out that KoPT was not keen to arrange for land for the shore disposal of the silt that was scathed off the river bed during maintenance dredging activities by the Dredging Corporation of India(DCI). It also threatened to go on strike if the KoPT Board passed the order for mechanisation of berths two and eight at Haldia to ABG Infralogistics Ltd in its April 25 meeting. "All the 3,600 workers registered with these five unions will go on strike in case the port awarded the tender to equip the berths to ABG", said a leader of HDOF who wished to remain unidentified. The unions, all under the banner of HDBC, have jointly submitted a memorandum to KoPT chairman in this regard.

He added that KoPT is reluctant to increase the draft of the channel that will allow bigger ships to come to Haldia. "The management is, instead, looking at reducing Haldia Dock Complex into a barge port. The chairman is believed to have spoken in this regard to a high-powered delegation from the shipping ministry that visited Haldia last week", the source added.

KoPT, in turn, denied the allegations, saying that it is only looking at building barge jetties outside the lockgate to accomodate more cargo and faster loading and unloading. "The chairman has also met state government officials to discuss land requirement for shore disposal of silt recently and the state government response is positive", said the KoPT official. He admitted, however, that things were unlikely to move before the Lok Sabha polls were over.

A K Chanda, chairman, KoPT, was unavailable for comment.