Haldia labourers’ livelihoods at stake after retrenchment

25 September 2012

biswabrata goswami
HALDIA, 25 SEPT: Amidst the ongoing doldrums over the handling of dry bulk cargos at Haldia Dock Complex (HDC), a fresh retrenchment of 275 workers by a private operator has triggered a new political dispute, putting the livelihoods of hundreds of labourers at stake.
Haldia Bulk Terminals (HBT) Pvt Ltd, a special-purpose vehicle of the LDA-ABG consortium, which operates Berths 2 and 8 at HDC, has announced its decision to retrench 275 workers, citing reasons of an oversized payroll of 650 and loss in operations. In a mailed communication, HBT CEO Gurpreet Malhi had informed yesterday: “HBT had decided to right-size its workforce with the retrenchment of 275 personnel w.e.f 24 September 2012. It may consider hiring or outsourcing suitable additional workforce in the future if the volumes increase. However it will look at hiring employee profiles which are not restrictive to only single function so that the workforce is agile to handle operations with optimal productivity.”
A few days ago, another private operator, Replay ~ which also deals with cargo handling at other berths of HDC ~ had threatened to retrench around 300 workers, prompting the Indian National Trinamul Trade Union Congress (INTTUC) leaders to launch an agitation against the port management.
Mr Subhendu Adhikari, Trinamul Congress MP had organised a rally in front of the HDC gate, threatening to paralyse the port activities if the port continued allocating the cargo-ships at Berths 2 and 8, which are dealt by HBT. Replay argued that if the volume of cargo handling is not increased at their Berths, they would be forced to retrench workers.
“But, this time when the HBT has decided to retrench 275 workers, Mr Adhikari is mysteriously silent over this decision despite the fact that the workers belong to INTTUC. If he protests the retrenchment, he will have to support the bilateral agreement between HBT and KoPT under the High Court's direction,” a Citu leader said.
According to an HBT official, the firm was forced to hire more than 220 people in 2010 under pressure from CPI-M strongman Lakshman Seth and Citu. “Soon after, INTTUC came up with a demand that unless we hire the same amount of people, HBT will not be allowed to start operations,” the official said. HBT had a total workforce of 1000, out of which 650 are on its payroll and another 350 are under a sub-contractor.

Row over Subhendu threat

21 September 2012

biswabrata goswami
HALDIA, 21 SEPT: Trinamul Congress Tamluk MP Subhendu Adhikhari today threatened a Haldia port officer, demanding that he stop the unloading of coking coal from a ship at Berth 8.
The MP called port manager D Nayak and said that, if the cargo was unloaded from the ship, he would not allow a single truck carrying the cargo to leave the port.
This is the latest battle in an ongoing war at the Haldia Dock Complex over the apportionment of work unloading ships.
A few days ago, Haldia Bulk Terminal Pvt Ltd (HBT) had threatened to suspend its operations at the complex because it wasn't getting enough work handling cargo. It had been getting about 5 million tons a year, but wanted at least 7.5 million tons at Berth 2 and Berth 8. 
The issue went to court, and the High Court asked Kolkata Port Trust to resolve the matter through discussions with HBT. A meeting was convened and it was decided that HBT's berths would be given priority over other berths.
But this decision was not accepted by Trinamul Congress trade union leaders, who gheraoed the port's operational building at Chiranjibpur yesterday.
Today, when the MV Nanos, carrying coking coal, called at Berth 8, a group of Inttuc workers led by Mr Shyamal Adak gheraoed the Jawahar Tower office, administrative
headquarters of HDC, demanding that the ship be shifted to another berth, a port official said.
Mr Nayak, who was threatened by the MP, Mr Adhikari, wrote a letter to Kolkata Port Trust Chairman-in-Charge Manish Jain, asking him to handle the situation.
Anticipating a deterioration of the law-and-order situation inside the port, Mr Jain shot off a letter to the principal secretary of the state Home Department, urging him to take action.
"In the above perspective, there is need to take all possible actions so that unlawful labour unrest as happened yesterday to deter the port in implementing the order of the Hon'ble High Court may be dealt with so that the law-and-order situation both inside and outside the dock does not break down and there are no disruptions in normal port operations," Mr Jain wrote to the principal secretary.  To protest priority being given to HBT by the port officials, Mr Subhendu Adhikari today organised a rally in front of the main gate of the Haldia Dock Complex. He told port officials that if any worker loses his job due to their "partisan role," he will launch a greater movement against the port.
A port official said: "The protests that are going on are politically motivated. We are just following the direction of the court."

Blood bank puts unlicensed hospital in trouble

19 September 2012

biswabrata goswami
CONTAI, 19 SEPT: The blood bank at Contai Sub-divisional Hospital has been running without a licence for about 75 days.
While the authorities are planning to turn the hospital into a district-like hospital, they have taken little care about ensuring that its blood bank follows basic rules. Blood banks must follow the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, but officials of the Directorate of Drugs Control found Contai's violating even the basic regulations.
Blood banks are issued licences for five years at a time, and they must apply to the DDC to renew their licences at least a month before they expire. Contai's expired on 30 June and it applied for renewal on 8 July.
"On scrutiny of available papers, it appears that the blood bank deposited the prescribed fees of Rs 75,000 through T.R-7 challan on 21 December 2011, which was within the stipulated period of time, but the application for the renewal has been made on 8 July 2012. Therefore, their application for renewal for the period 1.1 2012 to 31.12.2016 is hereby rejected,” the director of drug control wrote to district authorities on 11 September. 
The DDC had informed the hospital authority a few months ago that it had failed to submit the necessary documents such as affidavits, lists of voluntary donors, and an original drug licence.
Finally, with the formalities completed on the Contai hospital side, the DDC conducted an inspection and found that the blood bank was flouting several rules, a hospital source said.
The thermographs which record the temperature of the refrigerators were not functioning properly, de-freezers were not in good condition and equipment was not calibrated accurately. Even the labels on the blood bags were not maintained according to the rules.
“The DDC official issued a notice to the hospital authority, demanding they make amends within 10 days, but there was no response," a hospital source said.
Mr Mamud Hossain, saha-sabhadhipati of East Midnapore Zilla Parishad, said, “The former superintendent deposited the prescribed fees much before the stipulated period, but the inspection reveals that the Acting Superintendent, Mr Jyotish Chandra Das, submitted application seven days later after the expiry. I have informed the Health Minister, Mrs Chandrima Bhattacherjee, about the matter and urged her to conduct a probe."
Mr Das said: “The matter was not known to me as I joined here a few months ago. As the application for renewal has been rejected, I will have to make a fresh application for renewal now”.

‘Crores illegally lent out by bank official’

18 September 2012

The loans are big enough to destabilise the financial health of Bangiya Gramin Bikash Bank
biswabrata goswami
HALDIA, 18 SEPT: A bank chairman has been accused of illegally sanctioning crores of loans to a businessman close to rival leaders Mr Lakshman Seth and Mr Subhendu Adhikary.
The loans are big enough to destabilise the financial health Bangiya Gramin Bikash Bank, a regional rural bank sponsored by United Bank of India.
A complaint has been made to the Central Vigilance Commission and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against top executives including Bangiya Gramin Bikash Bank Chairman Rana Majumder.
Mr Majumder brushed aside the allegations. “The entrepreneur is a very good customer of the bank and he has deposited enough collateral security to the bank,” he said.  
The loans were provided to fish trader Siraj Khan and his associates, allegedly ignoring bank norms and bypassing rules and principles of lending stipulated by the RBI, Nabard, and the bank's board of directors. Some top officials were allegedly bribed to push through the loans, according to the complaint. 
A bank employee said: “Some of the officials of the concerned department who are instrumental to these unholy affairs are being retained at the same assignment even after their promotion to a higher grade, which is completely unbecoming in light of the guidelines of the Central Vigilance Commission."
The Katiabazar branch between June 2010 and March 2011 sanctioned a Rs 21.92 crore loan for Mr Khan and his family members by ignoring the bank's norms, according to the complaint. 
"The security norms have been intentionally relaxed for the benefit of the borrowers," it said. "A huge loan has been provided practically without any collateral security and only against personal cross-guarantees amongst the borrowers. Even no primary security is created or charged out of the loan proceeds."
In addition, the same branch disbursed a cash credit limit of Rs 9.9 lakh to Mr Khan on 28 July 2011, before it was sanctioned by the competent authority on 23 August 2011.
Furthermore, the Tamluk branch on 3 February 2012 provided Rs 36 crore to Sheikh Arshed and Firoja Begam, relatives of Mr Khan, to purchase 36 second-hand 12-wheeled Ashok Leyland vehicles from Mr Khan and two of his close associates.
The loans were provided without any collateral security, according to the complaint. The vehicles are registered in the names of Siraj Khan, Harul Khan and Mridul Khan with the RTA West Godavari-Eluru, Andhra Pradesh.
In other words, the vehicles have not been transferred into the names of the borrowers. Primary security was not created out of the loan proceeds, and the vehicles were not hypothecated in the name of the bank.
Mr Sagar Sen, Secretary of the Bagiya Gramin Bikash Bank Employees' Association, said: "We are very much concerned about the scam where the chairman of the bank is directly involved with it. We have already lodged a complaint with the economic wing of the CBI." 

Shrimp farms eat up agri land

5 September 2012

biswabrata goswami
TAMLUK, 5 SEPT: The rapid expansion of shrimp cultivation in East Midnapore district has been causing trouble, as hundreds of hectares of agricultural land has been converted into shrimp ponds.
This has given rise to conflicts between fishermen and farmers living in the coastal areas, massive environmental pollution, salinisation of drinking-water wells and paddy fields, and the destruction of spawn and crustacean species.
According to reports available with the East Midnapore zilla parishad, around 25,000 shrimp ponds have already come up in coastal lands of Contai-I, Contai-II and Contai-III, Bhagwanpur-I, Nandigram-I and Nandigram-II, Mahisadal, Sutahata and Khejuri blocks ~ the district’s main shrimp-producing zone. Every pond extends from one to two bigha on agricultural land and improved traditional shrimp farming is being practised in low-lying areas and shallow brackish water bodies enclosed by earthen bunds, locally known as bheris.
“As shrimp farming was more profitable than paddy cultivation till five years ago, many farmers had illegally converted their farmland into shrimp ponds. This practice has triggered various social conflicts between farmers and fishermen in coastal areas putting the district administration in trouble,” said zilla parishad saha-sabhadhipati Mamud Hossain.
In the past decade, shrimp aquaculture has witnessed rapid growth in East Midnapore. The expansion was driven by the high profitability of shrimp farming and attracted a wide range of investors, from individual farmers converting paddy fields to multinational companies investing in large-scale semi-intensive and intensive shrimp farming.
“The economic significance of the shrimp sector was large in terms of export earnings and employment till a few years ago. But as the price of other goods rose, shrimp farming has become less attractive. Declining exports are now forcing the farmers to sell their produce in the local market at half the price of  last year. As a result, many farmers are now trying to return to traditional farming, but it is quite difficult,” said a fisheries officer.
Most shrimp farms need to hold saline water throughout the year which, in turn, affects the soil. “If we shut the shrimp enclosures, we will die without food as no crops will be produced for few years because of their salinity,” said farmer Bikash Maity of Ramnagar-II block.
Small farmers say they are caught in a trap of brackish waters. Maity used to grow paddy and vegetables and raise cattle and poultry before he took to prawn farming 25 years ago. “But, nowadays, I need to buy everything from the market that is not produced locally because of the salinity,” he said.
With the 1996 Supreme Court order and the 1997 Aquaculture Bill, a new piece of legislation was introduced but the present permit and regulation system for shrimp farming is still deficient in a number of areas which relate, in particular, to enforcement.

Visual anthropology course in VU soon

4 September 2012

biswabrata goswami
MIDNAPORE, 4 SEPT: The anthropology department of Vidyasagar University is likely to introduce a course on visual anthropology, which is gradually becoming popular in many anthropology departments of the universities in Europe and USA.
A seminar on anthropology was held recently at the department, which is the first-of-its-kind organised by an anthropology department in West Bengal.
Anthropologists from the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata and Anthropological Survey of India discussed health, environmental and identity issues of the Lepchas and Bhutias and spoke on the possibilities of introducing a course on visual anthropology.
A documentary film, Rain in the Mirror, by the national award-winning director Nilanjan Bhattacharya, was screened along with Satyajit Ray’s Sikkim, which was banned by the Centre for more than 30 years. Rain in the Mirror depicted the story of Dorji Bhutia, a Buddhist monk and a reputed mask-maker with supernatural powers of bringing or stopping rain, who chose a self-determined death at the age of 86. He forecast the day of his death and died peacefully on that very day.
 Dorji leaves his mystic image behind but not the mantras to control rain. He did not even pass these on to his son, Duduk.
The family members believed that Sonam, the ten-year-old son of Duduk, would inherit the power by the time he grows up. Sonam himself also aspires for this. Set in this context, Rain in the Mirror follows a ten-year-old’s journey to manhood over nine years, from close quarters.
The camera quietly records Sonam’s growing up, his physical transformations of adolescence and his changing world view.
The filmmaker, like an anthropologist, remained an observer, looking at Sonam encountering various dilemmas in the conflicting milieus of tradition and modernity. While discussing the possibilities of introducing a course on visual anthropology, a professor said a visual anthropology project in order to produce a documented video record of Sikkim’s vanishing indigenous and Buddhist cultures was carried out by the Sikkim government.
The project aimed to record and preserve the meaning and proper performance of Sikkim’s rituals within the context of their social and economic cultures.
The project’s first film, Tingvong: A Lepcha Village in Sikkim (2005), has been screened at several ethnographic film festivals around the world. Among these, it was presented at the Film Festival of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Oxford in September 2005.
“If this new course is introduced, students and researchers will be benefited much,” said Abhijit Guha, reader, department of anthropology. 

KoPT officials stand by ABG decision to stop work

3 September 2012

biswabrata goswami
HALDIA, 3 SEPT: A majority of officials working in the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) will stand beside ABG, a private logistic company, which has recently threatened to suspend operations from 8 September unless it is offered a better deal by the port authorities.
The port officials, who won the election of the Haldia Dock Officers’ forum yesterday by defeating their rivals in the four prominent posts of the forum, said: “We will make all efforts so that ABG continues with its operations without any hurdle and we will replicate this ABG model while mechanising other berths of Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) for maximum realisation to the port”.
Mr Ramakant Burman, a senior port official who has been elected as general secretary of the forum said: “Our union will work for the betterment and financial revival of HDC and KoPT for the next two years”.
Mr Burman, convener of the Haldia Dock Bachao Committee and a senior port officer in Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) who had been instrumental in saving the port through his pro-development movements and initiatives, was suspended a few months ago by the KoPT chairman, Mr ML Meena, when he had raised his voice against the corruption relating to the land reclamation project at the Sagar Islands.
Mr Burman had said that the project was not viable because the location of the proposed port was chalked out on the western side of the island where land would be reclaimed through shore disposal of dredge proceeds from the Auckland bar. While replying to questions mailed to the KoPT chairman, Mr Meena had then said: “The removal of impediments has created a safe waterway towards Haldia via upper Auckland that is a scope of alternate ship movement through Eden Channel, by-passing lower Auckland.”
“The shipping route/channel cannot be compared with highways or any static route. The shipping channel in hydrodynamic environment could neither be created nor deserted overnight. Thus Auckland channel cannot be overlooked at the present hydrodynamic scenario,” he had said.
But, 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.
Two days ago, when Mr Meena placed his project proposal in KoPT's board meeting, the project was put on hold owing to lack of funds and adverse report of RITES on the proposed project.
“This issue had triggered sensation among most of the port officials who perhaps supported Mr Burman’s group in the election of the forum”, said a port official. Mr Burman’s suspension, meanwhile, was withdrawn and he has been reinstated in his post at Haldia, he added.
In the election, Mr Yudhisthir Manna was elected president, while Mr P Mahapatra and Mr B Sengupta were elected as vice-presidents and Mr Manabendra Giri as joint secretary of the forum.

Punishing the polluter

2 September 2012

 biswabrata goswami
TAMLUK, 2 SEPT: The West Bengal Pollution Control Board (PCB) has slapped a fine of Rs 20 lakh on the Kolaghat Thermal Power Plant (KTPP) for flouting its instructions on environment norms and threatened it with legal action if it continues to do so.
The order, issued by Mr Chandan Ghosh, a senior environment engineer of PCB, stated: “The KTPP has violated environmental norms and needs to be dealt according to law. Restoration of the area’s environment is of prime importance.”
After a preliminary survey of the plant and its surrounding areas in April this year, a PCB team had instructed the KTPP to bring down the emission level of two of its six 210-MW units which was five times the permissible limit.
Furthermore, The KTPP continued running its plant for the past one year without the permission of the PCB, the PCB report read.
Cracking the whip on the KTPP for causing environmental problems in the locality, the PCB has also asked it to plant at least 5000 saplings in its plant area within this monsoon time. This apart, the PCB has asked the KTPP authority to submit a report on a necessary action plan needed to reduce the pollution from its boilers and Electro Static Precipitators (ESP) machines.
Besides, the PCB has instructed that KTPP should ensure compliance to a particulate emission standard within the one-month period through modifying and revamping its Electro-Static Precipitator (ESP).
The PCB has forfeited the bank guarantee, amounting to Rs 10 lakh out of Rs 20 lakh that the KTPP deposited with the PCB. The order also asked KTPP authorities to deposit Rs 10 lakh as a ‘phase guarantee’ within 15 days from the date of issue of the order. This amount will be valid for the next 12 months, the order reads.
The stricture to KTPP comes in the wake of prolonged movement by the Krishak Sangram Parishad, a Suci-backed organisation, KTPP pollution control committee and Santipur pollution control committee and wide criticisms from environmentalists about the state-owned unit's lack of pollution concern. The dumped ashes, along with smoke belched out of the chimneys, are polluting a 500-sq km area in Midnapore East and Howrah district, endangering the lives of the people in the area.
According to reports, the pollution watchdog had slapped a Rs 1 lakh fine in 2001, Rs 3 lakh in 2003, Rs 10 lakh in 2010 on the KTPP for failing to ensure emissions below the prescribed level.
The PCB had even forced the KTPP authorities to reactivate the Denan canal at an expense of Rs 72 lakh.

KoPT officers place demands ahead of biennial poll of Haldia dock

31 August 2012

biswabrata goswami
HALDIA, 31 AUG: Ahead of the biennial election of the Haldia Dock Officers’ Forum, the officers working in the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) have raised issues relating to the financial revival of the Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) to defeat their rival candidates.
Among their 14-point charter of demands, the officers who dominated the forum have stressed allowing full-fledged vessel movement through Eden Channel as soon as possible so that the Rs 10 crores spent on impediment removal and navigational aids does not go to waste.
The dominating officers who are now contesting for the posts of president, vice-president, secretary and joint-secretary have raised the issue regarding the onboard and onshore operations at berths two and eight of the HDC.
"We have contracted out the total onboard and onshore operations at berth two and eight of the HDC, and we got a rate of Rs 227 per MT from TAMP against our payment of Rs 70 per MT to ABG, a private logistic company," said a port officer.
"We should, accordingly, make all efforts so that ABG continues with its operations without any hurdle and we should replicate this ABG model while mechanising other berths of HDC for maximum realisation to the port," the officer said.
ABG entered into a public-private-partnership with KoPT a couple of years ago to handle cargo at two berths in the HDC, but has recently threatened to suspend operations from 8 September unless it is offered a better deal by the port authorities. This has triggered a sensation among the port officials, who have made it their main election issue against rival candidates.
The dominating officials have also highlighted the Sagar project. “We have already spent Rs 10 crore on a feasibility study by RITES," a port officer said. 
"The Sagar Port project is not only technically unviable, as pointed out by RITES in its draft report, the project is not even economically viable as evident from the final report of RITES. We, accordingly, cannot allow KoPT to spend even a single penny on Sagar Port unless the economic viability of the project is established and all stake holders of the port are taken into confidence before spending a single penny of the project," a port officer said.
The port officers also said KoPT earns Rs 120 crore per annum from handling containers at KDS.
"If we go for construction of the Diamond Harbour Container Terminal on a PPP (public-private partnership) basis, our entire container cargo will shift to the account of the BOT operator at Diamond Harbour and, consequently, our income will come down from Rs 120 crore per annum to Rs 24 crore per annum if we assume a maximum revenue sharing of 20 per cent," an officer said.  “Will this amount be enough for salary payments to 9,000 employees and 33,000 pensioners of KoPT? We would like to mention here that Cochin Port Trust has given almost all its facilities to private operators on a BOT basis with some revenue-sharing arrangements and is incurring a loss of Rs 80 crore per annum. Do we want a similar situation at HDC/KoPT?” the officer asked.  The election is scheduled for 2 September.