Coming down heavily on “monopolistic” attitude of the Paradip Port Stevedores’ Association and the Dumper Owners’ Association, the Paradip Port Trust authorities on Friday said they would cancel licence and permission of “disturbing” service providers and provide security and required infrastructure to those who would work congenially in the port premises.
“Port operations held up since September 16 will resume from tomorrow and all necessary support and security would be made available to the service providers engaged therein. Any person or agency trying to create disturbance will be dealt with severely which includes revocation of licence or permission,” said PPT Chairman MT Krishna Babu at a Press conference here.
“The port management will give necessary support and protection to any service provider who wants to use the Port facilities for cargo handling as per the Port rules”, he said.
Krishna Babu said the Paradip Port is continuing its journey to achieve greater heights in cargo handling among the Major Ports of India.
In the last five months till August, the PPT handled 30.61 MMT of traffic, a 7.10 per cent rise over 28.58 handled during the corresponding period of the last year, said Krishna Babu.
He further informed that PPT also handled 673 ships during the period against 586 ships handled in the corresponding period of the last fiscal, witnessing a growth of 14.84 per cent.
Stating that the PPT is creating a level playing field for all port customers to do their business with ease, Krisha Babu said, a section of Port Stevedores under the Paradip Port Stevedores’ Association and the Dumper Owners’ Association have created a monopolized environment for a long period in the Paradip Port and they are bent upon frustrating free market economy to prevail at the port now.
Port operations have been stalled from 10 am of September 16 as the Paradip Stevedores’ Association and the Dumper Owners’ Association topped carrying out operations after the Seaways Shipping & logistics Pvt ltd could not accept the suggestions of the Stevedores Association to leave their contract of the JSPl. The JSPl has entrusted the Seaways with the work of stevedoring and intra-port handling of cargo on their ships.
Following the Seaways denial, the Dumpers Association didn’t supply dumpers to the Seaways for working the JSPl ship MV HARM which was berthed at the port on September 16 carrying 86,000 tonnes of hard coking coal.
Other stevedores have also stopped carrying out stevedoring work and intra-port work since then.