Kolkata:
A cargo firm has ended its operations at the Haldia port in West Bengal, blaming law and order problems. Haldia Bulk Terminals (HBT) says its workers were operating in unsafe conditions and that Mamata Banerjee's government did not offer any assistance. On the weekend, HBT says three employees were kidnapped and released after being warned not to return to Haldia. The chief minister has refuted the charges. But now, there are signs that HBT's exit may have been engineered to benefit another company operating at the Haldia dock which is owned by an MP from Ms Banerjee's party.
Here is a 10-point guide to the case:
The only other company handling cargo at the dock is Ripley and Company, owned by the family of Srinjoy Bose, a member of the Rajya Sabha from the Trinamool Congress.
Ripley's business had been affected when HBT was hired in 2010 to handle cargo. It was assigned two berths while Ripley and Company has eight.
Sources at the port say Ripley allegedly launched a campaign against its rival.
Ripley was assisted by another Trinamool MP , Shubhendu Adhikari, according to three documents accessed by NDTV.
Document A: On September 20, an email from an officer of the Haldia Dock to the chairman of the Kolkata Port Trust refers to Trinamool MP Shubhendu Adhikari phoning dock official, demanding to know why a ship had been assigned to a berth handled by HBT. The email alleges that Mr Adhikari warned that if cargo was unloaded at this berth, he would not allow a single truck carrying the cargo to leave the port.
Document B is a letter from the Kolkata Port Chairman to the Home Secretary on September 19 in which he says workers of private handling agents at Haldia belonging to the Trinamool union had a day earlier gheraoed or surrounded port offices to protest against ships being sent to HBT's two berths.
Document C is a letter from a Haldia Dock complex manager to the Haldia Police station about the same incident; he says that workers from Ripley and Company had participated in that menacing demonstration.
HBT's exit from the Haldia dock has been contested by the Kolkata Port Authority, which accuses the company of reneging on a 10-year contract.
The trouble for HBT began after it laid off nearly 275 workers in September. Those former employees have been protesting at the port with support from trade unions and the Trinamool Congress.
The HBT exit from the Haldia dock is being compared to Tata Motors' decision to exit Singur in West Bengal four years ago. The company moved its Nano-manufacturing plant to Gujarat, blaming the Trinamool for incting unrest among farmers and other residents in the area.
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