Sagar Island port project put on hold

25 March 2012

biswabrata goswami
HALDIA, 25 MARCH: The proposed deep-draught port project at Sagar Island has been put on hold for an indefinite period owing to the current financial situation of Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) and the adverse technical feasibility reports on the proposed port submitted by RITES.
The KoPT board members, in their board meeting held on last Friday, examined the project in detail and put it on hold for an indefinite period, Mr Debasish Dutta, a member of the board said.
Mr ML Meena, chairman of KoPT, had taken the initiative to set up a deep-draught port at Sagar Island without assessing the feasibility study report that highlights gross irregularities in its own plan.
It was proposed that the port is likely to be developed on the western side of the Island where land will be reclaimed through shore disposal of dredge proceeds from the Auckland bar. Trouble began when experts questioned the feasibility of a port facility with jetties on the western flank that was open to stronger currents and rough seas. It was pointed out that the purpose of reclaiming land would be destroyed if an impounded dock system had to be created there by dredging through the silt that had been dumped. The experts suggested that RITES explore the possibility of setting up a port on the eastern flank where land was already available.
KoPT had appointed RITES to carry out a survey of the project, including a rail-cum-road bridge from Kakdwip to the eastern flank of the island and 30 km of railway track across it to the proposed location of the port on the other flank. But RITES, in association with the Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS) and Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), pointed out some important demerits of the project.
According to the study reports of RITES, if Sagar West Port is situated at downstream of Bedford group of Islands and thereby possibility of sedimentation caused by eroded Bedford Island may yield adverse effect in the approach channel.
Similarly, in the event of Eden channel being in operation, the dredging activity may be concentrated on the North-South aligned Haldia-Auckland-Eden channel for Haldia-bound ships, whereas Kolkata-bound ships will follow the Sagar road-Rangafala route. In that case, the whole river morphology may be reoriented beyond expectation, RITES reported.
Violating all the study reports, Mr Meena had floated a tender of Rs 32 crore for the project without taking any consent from the board members, but it was later discharged by him. He then appealed to the Union shipping ministry to transfer the Budget allocation of Rs 50 crore, originally earmarked in May, 2005 for dumping of dredged silt of Jellingham, the Governing Bar of Haldia, for land reclamation at Sagar Island.
But the Union shipping ministry has recently turned down his request and asked him to do the project with the help of the port’s internal resources.
The board members did not pass the project in their meeting yesterday and put it on hold for an indefinite period.
Earlier, Haldia Dock Banchao Committee had raised its voice against the project, but Mr Meena had suspended one of its officers in Haldia for briefing the matter to the Press.