The Hindu Business Line : Japanese barge jetty in trouble

A few days before the Japanese Prime Minister had arrived in West Bengal, the investigating authorities started inquiring into the alleged irregularities in construction of a barge jetty at Haldia by a Japanese firm. The firm was importing some over-dimensional consignments which could not be transported by road. So the consignments were unloaded at Haldia dock and transported by barges along the Hooghly river to reach the factory located not far from the river front. From the river a channel was dug to a point close to the factory and a make-shift arrangement was made for unloading the consignments from barges. The Japanese company contracted the job to a reputed Indian freight forwarding firm, which handled two consignments after taking requisite permission from the State irrigation authorities for digging the channel and the Haldia Development Authority for constructing the make-shift jetty but, for whatever reasons, without taking the formal permission of the Haldia dock authorities. The dock authorities, therefore, have taken exception to it. It is not clear yet if the dock authorities would allow further handling of the consignments at the make-shift jetty unless permission has been obtained by the company.

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