Vishambar Gungi (58), a contract labourer who worked at the Karwar port for around 20 years, is now jobless. He hopes to find work as a construction labourer elsewhere.
The crumbling infrastructure at the port, poor rail connectivity, bad roads, ban on iron ore export and lack of political will to tap the revenue potential have rendered the port unviable for cargo ships and failed to fetch jobs to many locals.
According to the Directorate of Ports, Karwar, the port had earned a revenue of `15.14 crore in 2008-09 and handled a total cargo of 29.55 lakh tonnes (28.18 lakh tonnes of exports and 1.37 lakh tonnes of imports).
In 2009-10, 179 ships called at the port, the highest since 2001-02. But after export of iron ore was banned and granite export was temporarily suspended in 2010 following a court order, the revenue and cargo handled dropped drastically. The traffic has reduced from one in every two days to one per week now.
“Owing to court orders, 88,954 tonnes of iron ore is piled at the port occupying an area of 30,000 square metres. If this is cleared, the port may see some revival in the revenue as more ships can deliver goods,” an official who did not wish to be named said.
“If the Hubli-Ankola railway line proposal is cleared, the port will see a big improvement in its revenue,” he added. Since Union Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge is from Karnataka, people are hopeful that the project will be cleared soon. The state has a coastline of 1,55,300 km, studded with 10 minor ports.