This story is from October 4, 2016

Post-Puja relief for port biz?

<arttitle><p>Post-Puja relief for port biz?</p></arttitle>
KOLKATA: Things seem to be looking up for exporters and cargo handlers in Kolkata, with the state government set to relax the cargo regulations from the airport and the port area a week after Durga Puja. The home department is in touch with the brass of Kolkata Police over ways to tackle the problem following letters from the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), representations from Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) and other export houses.

FIEO deputy director general Devdutta Nandwani ex ral Devdutta Nandwani expects the relaxations after Puja. “Exporters are losing heavily due to the restrictions,“ he said. A tea exporter said that in only tea, the export of containers had gone down to 3,000 from 28,000. “Iron ore exporters are also suffering,“ he said. Arranging labour for loading and unloading for night movement has also become a major issue.
Even project cargo that arrives at the Kolkata Dock System (KDS) is at risk of delays.According to sources, the ministry of defence has expressed concern as cargo for the Indian Air Force base at Panagarh is arriving by ship at KDS. Lockheed Martin, that supplied C-130Js to the Air Force.
The city police stopped the movement of heavy vehicles in port roads like Taratala Road and Circular Garden Reach Road a couple of weeks ago, resulting in cargo piling up. KoPT chairman M T Krishna Babu had written to the chief secretary to relax the heavy vehicles ban. A couple of days earlier, after a meeting with port users, KoPT deputy chairman Balaji Arun Kumar had writted to the Kolkata Police commissioner to relax the restrictions. The port authority has also reached an arrangement with the government on repairing roads that connect to the port. “We have started repairs on some roads and an agreement has been reached on sharing costs to repair some others. This was decided at a ministerial-level meeting chaired by the assembly speaker,“ Babu said.
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