more-in KOCHI: Cochin Port Trust (CPT) has described the trailer operators’ strike citing lack of adequate parking space as “baseless, unreasonable and unjustified” and urged them to make optimum utilisation of already available parking facilities. CPT said it had been making suitable arrangements for parking of trucks and had plans for setting up more such facilities in the future. A parking terminal operated by Cochin Steamer Agents Association is available at Willingdon Island, while another parking facility was developed at Bolghatty Island in 2015. Though tenders were invited for developing truck parking areas eight times between 2014 and 2016, they did not evoke any response. Subsequently, CPT allotted land to public sector oil companies BPCL and IOC on nomination basis for developing parking facilities. BPCL had partially developed a parking terminal on the land allotted at Vallarpadam, while IOC is in the process of developing a facility. CPT said space was available for parking 310 trailers at the facility on Willingdon Island, while the space available at Vallarpadam can accommodate 445 trailers. No other port in India has earmarked so much of land for parking facilities, CPT sources claimed. It was pointed out that the business done at the Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) last year translated into 1,041 trailers a day, out of which only 30 to 40% need parking at any given time. Hence, the contention of trailer owners’ association that 2,500 trailers needed parking facilities was devoid of merit. CPT also shot down the operators’ demand for free parking space as unjustified even as it reminded them that the business model of container transportation was based on profit. The development of parking terminal entailed substantial investment which could be redeemed only through collection of parking fee. As on July 10, the terminal at Bolgatty had 45 trailers parked as against its capacity of 60, and BPCL yard had 38 against its capacity of 75. It was further pointed out that ICTT was a PPP project of CPT in partnership with DP World, and that the License Agreement governing the terminal had no provision for CPT to provide parking facilities for container trailers at Vallarpadam. Strike enters second day Meanwhile, an indefinite strike by operators of container lorries serving the Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal entered the second day on Monday. The strike began on Sunday midnight, bringing around 1,700 container lorry services to a standstill. The strike is in protest against the ban on parking of trucks along Container Road linking the container terminal to National Highway 47 from Kalamassery. Lorry operators have been demanding that sufficient parking space be made available before implementing the ban. The district administration had banned parking of lorries following accidents on Container Road. It had also ordered that streetlights be put up along the road and that the local government bodies ensure that the they worked.

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