New toll plaza irks JNPT, Nhava Sheva

The container operators at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and Nhava Sheva port terminals are on the warpath again. This time their grievance has to do with the new toll plazas on the refurbished NH4B, which has recently been widened to a four-lane highway.

The container operators contend that the toll plaza, operated by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), is not only at a wrong location but the toll itself is inordinately high at Rs 130 one way. The association has objected to the fact that it has to pay toll both on entry and exit from the port.

Vide a notice issued to the export trade last Tuesday, the Nhava Sheva Container Operators' Welfare Association and the Nhava Sheva Container Park Owners' and Operators' Welfare Association had declared that they would suspend all operations until the issues are sorted out.

Among the issues raised by the associations is the use of state highway 54 for container traffic as 30,000 teus are lying on container depots along the highway. At present, the highway is open for container traffic only at night. But this, the operators say, is pointless as they cannot operate at night.

However, after a meeting with port authorities today, the associations called off the two-day old strike, said Surendra Kardikar, president of the Container Operators' Association.

As per the interim agreement, regular operators will be issued a monthly pass enabling them to enter and leave the port without having to stop to pay toll each time.

The port authorities have also agreed to consider opening the road medians that were closed, saving 4-5 km extra for the carriers that were doing a complete circuit of the road right up to the port.

Kardikar said that the associations have given the port authorities a one-month timeframe for sorting out the issues. "If they are not sorted out to our satisfaction, we plan to go on strike again from 1-3 October," said Kardikar.