The Hindu Business Line : Congestion at Kolkata Dock hits Concor operations

An acute congestion at the Kolkata Dock System (KDS) has hit Container Corporation of India (Concor) which operates a terminal at the dock and runs regular services to Birganj (Nepal) and Amingaon (Assam) for handling international traffic and to various other inland destinations for domestic traffic.

Nepal bound

On an average about 3,000 TEUs, containing Nepal-bound imports, arrive at the dock every month and nearly 2,000 TEUs of them are Birganj-bound, the balance being for other Nepalese destinations. Concor accounts for an estimated of 80 per cent of the Birganj-bound boxes while the balance 20 per cent is transported by road. Ideally, it should handle 1,600 TEUs per month. For the past couple of months, it has been handling much less than that thanks to the congestion at KDS.

“An estimated 8,000 containers are clogging the parking lots of the container berths of the KDS while the space available there is enough for storage of half of them”, observe Concor sources. “This has led to predictable situation: the first-in-first-out principle is not being followed in matter of evacuation of the boxes with the result old boxes often get buried under the new arrivals”. The problem, as it is pointed out, has been compounded by the shortage of handling equipment.

NSD Exports

In view of the congestion at Netaji Subhas Dock (NSD) under KDS, the container ships are being berthed at Kidderpore dock, also under KDS, with no railway connection. As a result, the import boxes unloaded from the ships at Kidderpore dock’s berths are being transported by road to the Concor’s terminal located at the NSD. For the loading of export boxes, the same ship has to come to NSD berths again. Also, special arrangements are being made for the Customs clearance. All these entail delay and extra cost. But then the trade being in desperate situation has to accept it.

Amingaon Tea traffic

Meanwhile, Concor has started handling domestic tea traffic on the Amingaon-KDS section, the customers being companies such as McLeod Russel, Assam Company and Hindustan Unilever. Earlier, it used to be only tea for exports. “We’ve deployed four rakes on the circuit and the domestic tea traffic accounts for an estimated 25 per cent of the throughput on the route”, according to Concor sources.

In October, Concor operated as many as 12 services on the KDS-Amingaon-KDS circuit, the highest so far in a single month. At this rate, the throughput of tea exports on the route, it is felt, might be the same as the last year’s 2,600 TEUs.

Earlier, the apprehension was that the throughput this year might be less than that in the last year in view of not-so-bright prospects of tea exports.

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