“The trade is on the verge of ruin for non-settlement of key issues for the last four to five years. Despite assurances every time they were represented to the port trust, the demands are yet to be met. We apprised the new chairman of our, as well as the township’s land-related cases. We told him that this agitation is not against any port management or its official as they have done their duty of sending their recommendation to the concerned persons. Our fight is solely against the Ministry of Shipping, which has been sitting idle on all issues related to Kandla, offering only empty promises in return,” said Hiralal Parekh, national president of All Indian Salt Manufacturers Association.

He told this paper that the new chairman has requested for one more meeting with them on February 28. “We are ready to wait even till March 2. But we want no oral assurances. We want acceptance of our demands in writing and that too from the ministry,” he said.

Parekh said the main issues included restoration of earlier mortgage fee charge for issuance of NOC by the KPT for seeking finance from banks, renewal of salt-pan land lease for 30 years as was earlier, use of the container terminal leased to a private operator for general cargo vessels (as the two berth terminals remained empty for want of containerised cargo), and dredging of the port’s silted navigational channel to allow bigger draft vessels to berth.

According to sources, if the chamber stopped handling of cargo at Kandla, the port would stand to lose around 2 lakh tons of cargo daily. Also, this year Kandla is going neck to neck in handling cargo with last year’s national topper Visakhapatnam. In the current fiscal, it is expected to overtake Vizag as the country’s number one cargo handler.

Sources said the closure of port operations even by a day would put Kandla behind, spoiling its almost sure chance of emerging as the country’s number one port.