Monday, August 06, 2012

KANDLA PORT TRUST

When Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone of the kandla port, the vision was truly a grandiose one. while one cannot deny the achievements of this port, Akram Hoque of B&E also warns of critical shortcomings

To be quicker, the port authority is trying to meet equipment requirements. It has 12 wharf cranes of various capacities from 2 tonnes to 25 tonnes and 9 weighbridges from 40 MT capacities to 100 MT. It also has 12 cargo berths. “A lot of developmental changes have happened in the last decade,” says M. Chauhan, an officer with the Pest Control of India, a regular visitor to Kandla since 29 years. Kandla Port Trust’s Dadlani accepts to me that there is “stiff competition from major and small ports” around the Kandla port. “I think Mundra is giving the toughest competition to Kandla. Mundra is efficient, has bigger space and is modern. The entire port is covered with green trees and is connected by 6-way lanes,” says Vijender Singh. Since the government of Gujarat is preferring privatisation in developing smaller ports, they are becoming extremely competitive.

That brings us to the other big challenge for Kandla – environmental concern. In our visit to Kandla, we could not find too many trees in the surrounding area. Major commodities for export and import are coal, wood, fertilisers and crude oil, which are unfortunately big polluters. There is also a chance of crude oil leakages. The neighbouring air, water and space is extremely dirty and polluted. The cleaning process is inadequate; creating a very unhealthy atmosphere, unlike Gandhidham, which is a direct consequence of Kandla port and its prosperity. Moreover, illegal and unstructured houses of local workers near the port make it look a slum area. The Kutch region, where Kandla is located, suffers year-round water shortage. And while individual companies, like IFFCO Kandla, have been certified for ‘ISO 14001 Environmental Standards’, I could not find the Port Trust supporting an official line in this regard.

Apparently, India’s largest port has more problems to handle than just professional and competitive. Nehru’s temple, this surely can be in the future, as the promise for achievement is much more than the despair of failure. For me, the temple lives to see another day.


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