The Hindu Business Line : Kochi port chief warns striking trailer owners

The standoff between the Cochin Port Trust and the container trailer operators over the parking fee for trailers has entered the sixth day on Sunday, crippling cargo movement to and from the port.

The Port Trust Chairman, Mr N. Ramachandran, has warned that suitable action would be taken against the trailer operators who refuse to accept the security guidelines issued by the port with regard to parking of trailers.

Haphazard parking of trucks and trailers in the island has become a serious security risk, as outside vehicles which are not connected with port operations are also parked inside the port area, some of them for months together. In the present security scenario in the country, this practice is fraught with danger, he said.

He told Business Line that there has been some specific security alerts in the light of recent incidents in Mumbai and it has been imperative to take strict security measures, including identification of vehicles. If the trailer operators are refusing to comply with security measures, the port will be forced to take suitable steps including police action as the issue is connected with national security, he said.

Of late, the number of trucks, trailers and lorries parked on the roads of Willingdon Island has been increasing rapidly, as the owners of these vehicles find it easy to park in the port area practically free of cost. It is clear that the situation has arisen because of the teeming number of vehicles, which may or may not be connected with port operations, being parked in the island.

Denying that the parking fee imposed by the port is on the higher side, the Chairman said “for running a business, nowhere in the world people will demand free service and here the operators are demanding free service.”

Meanwhile, Mr P. Ramachandran, Joint Secretary of Cochin Container Carriers Owners Welfare Association, denied that the trailer operators were on strike but said that they had only refused to accept the conditions imposed by the port management on them with regard to parking of vehicles.

He pointed out that the newly introduced parking fee has put the container owners in difficulties since the transport industry has been facing several problems in the recent past.

He said the port could debit the parking fee to the account of the clearing agent concerned rather than charging the carrier owners.

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