KOCHI: The export-import (exim) industry is facing the risk of losing major contracts due to the indefinite strike by operators of container lorries serving the Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT), which entered the third day on Wednesday.
Industry experts said if the strike continued indefinitely, it would adversely impact the exim trade and local businesses, besides resulting in major loss of employment in the transport sector. Bringing around 1,700 container lorry services to a standstill, the truckers began the strike on Sunday midnight, demanding sufficient parking space for the truckers in the vicinity of the Cochin Port Trust (CPT).
In the wake of increasing accidents on Container Road, the district administration had earlier banned parking of trucks along Container Road, which links National Highway 47 from Kalamassery to ICTT.
The CPT chairman on Tuesday appealed the container trailer operators to drop their unreasonable demands and fully use the parking slots available. He urged the truckers to refrain from the strike as it would adversely affect the exim trade.
‘Baseless allegations’
The CPT authorities said the container carriers in Kochi had stopped their services citing lack of alternative parking areas in the port area. However, the allegations raised by the lorry operators are baseless, the said.
The CPT has been making arrangements for parking of lorries and container carriers wherever necessary. In 2008, a parking terminal was set up in Willingdon Island, which is being operated by the Cochin Steamer Agents Association.
Similarly, a parking slot developed at Bolgatty Island in June 2015 is being operated by M/s Arpitha. During the 2014-2016 period, notice inviting tenders for developing truck parking areas were invited eight times, but in vain. It was in this context the port decided to allot land to PSU oil companies on nomination basis for the purpose. Accordingly, one area was allotted to BPCL in Vallarpadam in July 2016 and the company has partially developed the terminal. Another land has been allotted to IOCL, which is in the process of developing the facility, the CPT authorities said.Parking facilities for accommodating 310 trailers are available in Willingdon Island and for 445 trailers in the Vallarpadam area. No other port in the country has earmarked such a vast extent of land for parking facilities, they said.
According to the officers, the ICTT had handled 4.91 lakh containers last year, which require about 3.8 lakh trailers at the TEU ratio of 1.3, which translates into 1,041 trailers a day. It is only about 30-40 per cent of the trailers parked on the road, waiting for the next call of business, while the others are on the run. The contention of the trailer owners association that around 1,750 trailers require parking and the current facilities can serve only a fraction of the demand, is devoid of merit as there are adequate parking facilities for the trailers reaching ICTT for business, they said.
Parking blues
The truckers began the strike on Sunday midnight, demanding sufficient parking space for the container trailers in the vicinity of the Cochin Port Trust.
Strike to continue
Container Owners Association secretary Gilbert said the claims of CPT were false and the truckers would continue their strike till the demands were met.