Chennai Port export ops hit as Containers go off the road

Jonathan Ananda and C Shivakumar

Chennai:

Export operations from Chennai Port were hit after container truck
drivers went on a sudden strike even as Port officials were struggling
to break the deadlock.



A Chennai Port official told Express on Tuesday that the strike by the
container drivers started as the Chennai Port went by rule book after
there was a raid by Central Bureau of Investigation two weeks ago.



This affected the flow of container lorries into the port with drivers
alleging that the normal procedure is several times more time
consuming. “This has incensed the drivers who went on strike,” the
port official said.



He said that operations in both Port of Singapore Authority Terminal
as well as DP World Terminal were hit. Port officials said that on an
average day the Chennai Port caters to 1,700 containers.
Interestingly, this month the Port had seen a rise of 10,000
additional tus of cargo from containers when compared to the
corresponding period last year.



It is alleged by the drivers that the clearance of containers was
going smoothly as each container was being charged an extra Rs 60 by
officials. However, the CBI raid has resulted in officials eschewing
the Rs 60 and slowing down work. They add that the rate of containers
being cleared per day has come down to 600 to 700 from an average of
1,700 earlier.

E Kalimuthu, general secretary of Chennai Harbour Tractor, Trailer,
Drivers and Cleaners Union demanded the return to the earlier system
benefit all concerned since the slowing down of clearance has resulted
in drivers waiting three to four days for delivery of a single
container. “We also want the earlier system implemented by the Lorry
Owners Association and the Union to ensure orderly clearance of
containers. We had been charging a mere Rs 30 for this service,”
Kalimuthu said.



“The CBI raid has also resulted in this system being scrapped,” he added.



Meanwhile, Chennai Port officials tried to end the stand off through
dialogue along with custom officials but it turned futile. “We called
for a meeting at 3pm but barring one or two drivers none turned up,”
port officials said.



“Since the stir is continuing, we had called for another  meeting at
11 am tomorrow,” he said. The officials also said there is also a plan
to post additional staff at the gates so that the clearance can be
expedited.