BS reported that the Orissa government, which is entangled in a pitched battle with the Kolkata Port Trust over the unilateral extension of the port's limits, is pulling all stops to protect the state's interests and ensure that the minor ports coming up along the state's coastline are not threatened.

The state government has now decided to consult the promoters of all proposed minor ports including the Dhamara Ports Company Limited to arm itself fully ahead of the next meeting of the Union shipping ministry on the issue of extension of KoPT's limits which is likely to be held by the end of this month.

Mr BK Patnaik chief secretary of Orissa said that "The government of India wants to have another round of discussions on the issue of extension of KoPT's extension limits. The date of the meeting has not been fixed but it is likely to be held by the end of this month. We will take the views of all the minor port developers including Dhamara Port. The state government is in the process of collecting various facts on the issue and we will ensure that the state's interests are not compromised."

When asked if the state government would counter KoPT's move to extend port limits by KoPT in the aftermath of the recently concluded Bengal polls, Chief Minister Mr Naveen Patnaik said that "Of course, we will counter that."

The extension of Kolkata port's limits had snowballed into a major controversy with the Orissa High Court recently directing the KoPT authorities not to act in haste in connection with the issue of extension of port limits.

(Sourced from Business Standard)