Exporters here are worried for the regular traffic snarls on the National Highway (5A) due to thousands of incoming iron ore laden trucks jamming the street over a stretch of 25 km between Paradip and Mashakani.
The spurt in iron ore export has given a proportionate push to the number of the iron ore laden trucks ferrying cargo from several mines to the port city. However, the Paradip Port Trust (PPT) has a handling capacity of unloading about 1,200-1,300 trucks per day inside the PPT prohibited area. As a result, over 5,000 trucks are found stranded on the side of the NH (5A) every day. Besides creating traffic jam, they are also creating another problem for the non-ore cargo carrying vehicles.
The trucks carrying other exportable cargos such as chrome ore, chrome concentrate and ferro chrome too have to negotiate with the jam and face delays in disposing of their cargo in the PPT. Earlier, the police were giving these trucks precedence over the iron ore laden trucks to move towards the port considering the low number. But this is no more happening now and these non-ore cargo trucks have to wait for their turn in the queue. This has become a headache for export houses like Tata Steel, MMTC, IMFA, Misrilal Mines, who are basically exporters of the non-ore cargo.