The Hindu Business Line : S-E Rly worried over Haldia dock strike

The strike by contractors’ workers at the Haldia dock, which entered the sixth day on Thursday, has sent alarm signals to the railways and steel plants. South Eastern Railway (SER), serving the Haldia dock, is worried that one of its rakes carrying iron ore for export is stranded within the dock for the past few days. There is no way the rake can be unloaded and released as long as the strike continues.

Bokaro Steel Plant of Steel Authority of India Ltd, dependent on coking coal imported through the Haldia dock, is believed to have reported stock-out situation. Which means coal stocks in the plant is fast depleting and, in the absence of fresh arrivals, there will be problems. The same is true, in varying degrees though, about other steel plants dependent on imports through Haldia.

Interestingly, the steel plants are facing coal shortage when the dock is holding a stock of nearly two lakh tonnes of imported coking coal. No evacuation of imported coal out of the dock will be possible as long as there will be strike.

SER is also worried because its traffic throughput at the Haldia dock declined in June. In June, normal operation of the dock was hit by strike for 11 days. As a result, the unloading of rakes in the dock dropped to 112 during the month as compared to 186 in March, the best in recent times.

The unloading of thermal coal for the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board dropped to 28 from 60 and of iron ore rake to 57 from 96. The loading of rakes during the month was 212 as compared 239 recently, according to SER sources.

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