By IANS,
Kolkata : Observing that the West Bengal government’s “silence” over the ongoing labour unrest in the Haldia Dock Complex was heading towards disaster, the Congress Monday sought the intervention of the prime minister in the matter.
“The Haldia Dock Complex is steadily heading towards disaster and the state government is mysteriously silent. This is leading to a catastrophic situation. If it continues like this, there will be negative impact on the industry,” Congress leader Manas Bhunia told media persons here.
“All the stakeholders, including the state and the central governments, must come forward and solve the problem. We cannot tolerate this situation anymore. I have sent a note to the prime minister (Manmohan Singh) seeking his intervention in the matter,” he added.
The deadlock at Kolkata Port Trust’s (KoPT) Haldia Dock Complex over operations of ABG Haldia Bulk Terminals (HBT) took an ugly turn Sunday as a mob allegedly abducted three officials of the company. The three were later released.
The Kolkata Port Trust has moved the Calcutta High Court for permission to terminate its agreement with HBT, which has stopped operations at the second and eighth berths of the dock complex, following unrest over the retrenchment of 275 employees at the HBT.
A joint venture company between ABG Infralogistics and French firm Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, HBT had a total workforce of 1,000, of which 650 were on its payrolls, while 350 were under a sub-contractor.
The company had, however, stopped operations on Sep 24, citing political unrest.