Cargo handlers at Haldia port ‘unlicenced’

15 October 2012

biswabrata goswami
HALDIA, 15 OCT: The private agencies in charge of shore handling operations at the Haldia Dock Complex's (HDC's) non-mechanised berths don't have valid handling licences. 
When they moved Calcutta High Court to stop KoPT from allotting more vessels and cargo to HDC's berths 2 and 8, the court rejected their writ petition, finding no legal strength in the handling licences issued to them by KoPT at Haldia, a port official said.
The crisis at Haldia port erupted about a month ago when Haldia Bulk Terminals (HBT) threatened to suspend operations at berths 2 and 8 because they were losing money.
KoPT moved the High Court and, on 12 September, signed an agreement with HBT agreeing to allocate vessels to HBT's berths on a priority basis. Workers at the port’s manually handled berths, however, objected to this and blocked the move.
"Now the question uppermost in the minds of all is how the KoPT authority could issue handling licences to the private handling agents to earn around Rs 200 crore per annum from shore handling operations at HDC when there is no provision in any bylaw or regulation of KoPT for issuance of any such license by the KoPT authority,” a senior port officer said. 
Haldia Dock Officers’ Forum Secretary Ramakant Burman said: "The private handling agents are working and making crores of rupees from HDC only with the blessings of the KoPT authority without there being any legal strength of such handling licences issued to them. If this is true, then there has been a scam of Rs 7,000 crore during the last 35 years at Haldia Dock Complex.
"This should be thoroughly investigated into by the CBI and a suitable mechanism should be immediately devised to bring such shore handling operations under the ambit of the KoPT under the relevant sections the of Major Port Trusts Act, 1963 and the Traffic Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) Guidelines, 2005 with the approval of the central government," he said.
In the bylaws of the KoPT, there is a provision for issuance of stevedoring licences, whereby stevedores will work onboard the ships. But the concept of stevedores exists only at the Kolkata Dock System of KoPT and not at Haldia Dock Complex. 
“At HDC, all onboard operations (onboard stevedoring) is done by the port itself as there is no provision for the existence of stevedores at HDC. So how are the private handling agents working at HDC without any contract or revenue-sharing with KoPT for the last 35 years just on the strength of a document issued by KoPT which is not supported by any Act/bylaw/regulation of KoPT?” Mr Burman asked.
HDC Shipping Manager Damodar Nayek said" "I will not make any comment on this court matter, but I will say that every handler has licences and based on these licenses they work inside the port". 

KoPT ‘illegally allows’ barges to unload coal

HALDIA, 15 OCT: As the crisis at Haldia port continues unabated, Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) has been accused of illegally allowing three I-V category barges to go to Sandheads to unload cargos from a ship anchored nearby today.
A senior port officer said: “All I-V class barges can go only up to Sagar, but they have gone to Sandheads without necessary certificates from DG of Shipping. This is highly illegal.”
A ship carrying 75,000 MT thermal coal from Indonesia has arrived near Sandheads and three I-V category barges were allowed to go there to unload the cargos into their barges. The National Thermal Power Corporation has imported the coal for its Farakka and Kahalgaon plants, the port officer said. sns