Cargo handling stalled at Paradip

Kendrapada: Over five lakh tonne of imported limestone have been lying at Paradip Port dockside for more than two weeks following a tussle, involving dumpers owners' association (DOA) and a stevedore company.
Port sources said the cargo was meant for Jindal Steel Company,. "We are trying to resolve the dispute between the two parties," traffic manager of the port Damodar Nayak said on Friday.The DOA has been cautioned against disrupting the cargo handling work.
The sources said trouble started when a payload machine rammed a dumper on July 6 and damaged it, a day after the ship berthed at the port with the cargo. "The DOA asked the stevedore company to pay for the damage and went on a wildcat strike," said a senior port official, adding, "A fighting ensued between the two parties in which some more dumpers were damage."
"The DOA resorted to strike with an ulterior motive. When we tried to make alternative arrangements, the association stalled the work as well," said Mahendra Kumar Swain, deputy general manager of Seaways Shipping and Logistics Limited at Paradip.
President of DOA Bijaya Nayak denied the charges. "We decided to stop work after eight of our dumpers were damaged," he said.