Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)
Mangalore, Oct 24: It is gathered that the high-handed attitude of the port department officials here has not only created bottlenecks in the movement of ships to Lakshwadweep from the old port here, but also adversely affected the ship owners and labourers working for the ships.
Shipping season here starts on September 16 and ends on may 15. Since a month, only six ships have left the local shores, whereas in normal course, several ships carrying a variety of goods should have sailed to Lakshadweep every day. As a result, the government has been losing revenue heavily. The ship owners, who have not been able to operate their ships since a month, allege that port department officials have been blocking loading work, and that they have not been issuing necessary permits and trip bills etc. They have threatened to launch protest against this attitude.
About 70 ships operate from here to Lakshadweep. Lakshadweep is a group of tiny islands, which are heavily dependent on import of everything from Cochin or Mangalore ports. Sand, cement, crushed stones, and tiles are some of the items which are in high demand at Lakshadweep. As loading and unloading work has been seriously hampered, workers of these ships are lying idle, without any income. The ships take about 36 hours to reach Lakshadweep, which is located 300 miles away from here.
Transportation of sand and minerals require permissions from geology and mines department. As sand mining has been restricted since some time, there is problem in procuring necessary permission. Some other minerals are also shipped through the port to Lakshadweep. Because of various restrictions, officials are non-cooperative, the ship owners claim. They also allege that after port officer, Mohan Kudri, retired about a year back, the port office here is managed by a couple of lower level officials, who create problems for port operations. Although an officer from Karwar visits the port here once in a while to discharge duties as the port officer, these officials have a say on everything in normal course, which is creating lot of problems, they rue.