BS reported that the Paradeep Port Workers Union has sought the removal of Mr K Raghuramaiah chairman of the Paradeep Port Trust.

The union held the PPT chairman responsible for sinking of MV Black Rose, an iron ore carrying vessel which capsized in the sea near the port about two weeks back, stating he was continuously allowing old vessels to enter the port for export and import of cargo.

The port workers' union has submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister, Union minister for shipping and the Orissa chief minister, demanding removal of Mr Raghuramaiah as the chairman of PPT. They also demanded the setting up of a high level investigation committee to probe the matter.

Mr Sudhakar Mantry working president of PPT workers union said that “The PPT chairman did not take any step to retrieve oil from the sunken vessel. His frequent absence in Paradeep has been a setback to the port administration.”

The workers union alleged that some private surveyors are being allowed by the PPT to survey vessels ignoring government certified surveyors.

Moreover, the trimming work of the cargoes in the hatches of the ships is not being done in a proper manner in the absence of adequate number of cargo handling workers and deck foremen.

According to the memorandum “The loading and unloading of cargoes have unexpectedly been minimized and PPT is losing revenue up to INR 5 crore every month. The berths and plots of the Paradeep port have been damaged due to want of proper repair and maintenance. The PPT chairman has committed the gross mistake of directly taking over the responsibility of transferring the plots to the ship traders.”

The memorandum also pointed out that outsiders were being allowed to enter the prohibited areas of the port.

(Sourced from Business Standards)