Amid traffic going down, there seems to be no end to the grief of Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT).
At Haldia Dock Complex, a part of KoPT, settlement over a legal battle with one operator over operational issue has kicked of protests by other operators now.
Last week, the port authorities had reached an agreement with the ABG Haldia Bulk Terminals (AHBT) for maximum utilisations of berth number 2 and 8 operated by the company following a High Court direction. The deal said that all vessels carrying dry bulk cargo arriving at Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) will be allocated to AHBT berths and if these berths are engaged, vessels will be allocated to other berths.
This even lead to protests by workers of other berths, which even led to gheraoing of port officials. “Out of the total 14 berths and 3 oil terminals we have, dry bulk cargo is handled in 8 berths. With priority being given to AHBT, workers of other terminals are fearing that they might lose their jobs and protests are going on for two days,” said A K Dutta, Manager (Administration), HDC.
Meanwhile, there were reports of allegations that the port authorities tried to defy the court order by diverting cargo to other berths, which KoPT denied.
The issue has infact added to the woes of the port which is struggling due to lower traffic. According to officials, there was a 14.3 per cent drop during April to August period in HDC, compared to last year.
AHBT, a joint venture company between ABG Infralogistics and French firm Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA), was planning to suspend its operations demanding more cargo, when the issue was settled following a court direction. The firm was suffering an accumulated loss of Rs 45 crore from Haldia operations.
“We had done an investment of Rs 140 crore, when we started the project. Unless the port ensures 9 MT of bulk cargo, compared to 5.5 MT, we are left with no option but to pull out of Kolkata port,” Gurpreet Malhi,chief executive officer, ABG-LDA Bulk Terminals had earlier told Business Standard.
“The protests that are going on are politically motivated. We are just following the direction of the court,” another port official said. Officials say that the deal was reached with clauses that it will not affect the minimum guaranteed cargo offered to other berths.
