The Hindu Business Line : Row over handling of wheat at Kakinada

The port authorities here have stirred the hornet's nest once again by allowing the deepwater port to handle wheat imports, to the chagrin of workers in the old anchorage port and the steel barge owners.

The steel barge owners as well as the anchorage workers, mostly from the fishermen community, are enlisting the support of political parties and are planning agitation to stall the move.

The barge owners are seeking recourse to the law by filing a writ petition against the FCI to divert wheat imports from the anchorage to the new port on the plea that it was bulk cargo approved by the Union Government.

At a joint press conference here on Friday, Mr B. Ramamurty, President of the Steel Barge Owners' Association, and Mr V. Veerababu, President of the Steel Barge Workers' Association and the Cargo Boat Workers' Union, said it was a deep-rooted conspiracy to divert cargoes from the old port to the new one and close down the old port. They said thousands of workers were dependent on the old port and steel barge owners had also invested heavily in barge construction and they would lose their livelihood if the authorities allowed such diversion.

They said wheat was a traditional cargo meant and reserved for the old port. They also refuted the contention that bulk cargo needed to be handled at the new port. They alleged the State Government's intention was clear and it wanted to benefit the new port being operated by a private consortium, the Kakinada Seaports Ltd, at the expense of the old port and the workers besides the barge owners.

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