The Hindu Business Line : Traffic via Haldia drying up for Concor

The tea exports routed through the Amingaon (Guwahati) inland container depot (ICD) no longer take place through the Haldia dock; the shipments are entirely routed through the Kolkata Dock System. Earlier, Haldia used to handle the entire shipments.

The imports, mainly on Nepal account, too cannot be handled by Concor even as it offers services (from Majherhat in Kolkata) right up to Birganj ICD located inside Nepal.

The volume is so small that placing a rake is not cost-effective. To circumvent the problem, Concor is prepared to road-bridging - i.e., transporting the consignments from Haldia to Kolkata by road - of that limited volume of traffic and carrying it by rail right up to Birganj ICD.

However, the Customs would not agree to such a movement. Concor, it is learnt, is planning take up the matter with the Customs authorities.

The domestic traffic scenario too does not present an encouraging picture. Earlier, the bulk of support was provided by a Japanese chemicals factory located at Haldia.

There were times when Concor was required to place as many as three rakes a month at the factory to transport their products to several domestic destinations. Not any more, for various reasons.

The buyers are believed to have cut down their offtake. The plant too has been undergoing frequent shutdowns, it is learnt.

The level of service provided by Concor too was unacceptable to the Japanese firm, which now sends a limited volume of cargo by road to Kolkata for onward movement by train.

Meanwhile, Concor's operation in the eastern region, covering West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam and Orissa, has recorded impressive growth.

Between April and July this year, the domestic traffic throughput at 9,924 TEUs (7,955 TEUs) clocked nearly 25 per cent growth.

During the same period, the export-import traffic at 5,508 TEUs (4,241 TEUs) grew 30 per cent.