The Kolkata Port Trust seems to have found a “solution” to the month-long impasse over cargo handling at Haldia port.
Following a marathon meeting with the private partners, labour unions and other stakeholders on Thursday, port authorities have formed a committee to look into the demands of all the cargo handlers at the Haldia dock complex.
“We have set up a committee comprising nine members from all the stakeholders. We have given a set of proposals to all the cargo handlers. We wish the committee will file a report within a week,” Manish Jain, Chairman-in-charge of KoPT, told reporters here.
Trouble was brewing at the port over offering more cargo to the mechanised berths operated by Haldia Bulk Terminals (HBT), a joint venture between KoPT and ABG-LDA.
HBT earlier threatened to suspend operations on the grounds of “low cargo offering” and prevailing “lawlessness”.
To evaluate proposals
HBT said it would evaluate the proposals given by KoPT. “We need to evaluate the proposals. Any commercial organisation cannot survive incurring losses,” Gurpreet Malhi, Chief Executive Officer of HBT, said after Thurday’s meeting.
While Jain declined to comment on the proposals, representatives of the workers’ unions said the stalemate can be resolved only by balancing the profits of the cargo handlers.
Jain pointed out that the Haldia dock witnessed 12 per cent decline in overall cargo flow over the last nine months, compared with the corresponding period last year.