DISASTER

Paradeep's problems

SANTANU SANYAL
in Paradeep

THE Paradeep Port Trust (PPT) authorities knew what was coming, thanks to the Internet. They lost no time in taking measures according to a contingency plan formulated by the Union Government in the wake of the cyclone havoc at the Kandla port two years ago.

"We did not rely much on the forecasts by the Meteorological Department, which were general in nature. Instead, we started surfing the Net and at least two sites gave us a clear picture of the projected route, movement and intensity of the impending stor m. We were on the alert," PPT Chairman S.K. Mohapatra said.

"Having lived in Paradeep for more than 30 years, we have learnt one thing: never take a cyclone warning signal lightly," Dilip Misra, PPT Traffic Manager, said.

The first priority was to force the berthed ships out of the port. There were six such vessels. Five of these were moved to mid-sea where the effect of the storm on them would be less severe. The vessels returned to the port after the Navy declared the n avigation channel clear for traffic on November 6.

A sixth vessel, Spar Opal, which was loading steel coil, refused to sail out. Its moorings snapped and it was pushed from one berth to another, but it suffered no major damage. As it happened, the vessel's onboard satellite telephone system was the only means of communication Paradeep had with the outside world.

Eight vessels were waiting outside the port for berths. All but one left as soon as the cyclone struck.

No piece of major equipment at the port was damaged. Mohapatra said that the port authorities did everything possible to protect the equipment. The projecting parts of large equipment were lowered and fastened with bolts and the equipment was removed to safer places. However, some losses were inevitable. For example, the roofs of the transit sheds were blown off. Sea water damaged transformers and electric motors. Sand-casting has reduced the depth of the channel by about two metres: the channel has to be dredged. Navigational lights are gone, so are the pylons.

What has caused the most concern is the damage to the railway tracks between Rahama and Paradeep on the Cuttack-Paradeep section of the South Eastern Railway. The movement of bulk items such as coal and ore to and from the port has been hampered. Bulk it ems constitute more than 95 per cent of the port's traffic. Coastal shipment of thermal coal for the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) and other consumers could be resumed as nearly 2.5 lakh tonnes of ground stock was lying at the port. Thermal coal ac counts for seven million tonnes of the port's total throughput of 13 million tonnes. The TNEB's share in the thermal coal traffic is more than five million tonnes.

The problem that coking coal importers such as the Tata Iron and Steel Company (Tisco) and Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) faced was even greater. The imported coking coal lying at the port premises cannot be evacuated unless the railway lines ar e repaired. To solve the problem, Tisco chartered a vessel to ship it to Haldia for onward movement by rail. Thus, part of the coking coal stock was shifted, though at a cost.

"We estimate the loss of port property at Rs.80 crores," Mohapatra said, pointing out that several private firms that undertook port projects on contract had complained of a combined loss of Rs.20 crores. "We will request the Centre to provide funds to m eet the additional expenditure," he said, adding that the suspension of normal port operations entailed a loss of income of about Rs.60 lakhs a day.

Rebuilding work to facilitate early resumption of normal operations took a back seat as the port authorities were forced to devote themselves to relief work. A large number of people living in shanties on port lands and the residents of villages close to the port were badly affected. Moreover, the port authorities had to coordinate the relief work undertaken by various government and non-governmental agencies. For this reason, they could not pay continued attention to the work on the Asian Development B ank-aided coal handling plant. The commissioning of the plant will now be delayed by at least six months.

At the Paradeep port. Ahead of the cyclone, the port authorities had almost all the ships moved out of the berths to mid-sea.

Although the Navy deployed seven vessels and cleared the navigation channel, work could not resume. Even two weeks after the cyclone, Paradeep had no power supply. Since the public sector Paradeep Phosphates Ltd (PPL) was hit badly, the berth dedicated t o it did not receive vessels.

Absenteeism, in view of the cyclone and the scare of ammonia leaks, was another factor that stood in the way of the resumption of normal work. Rumours of leaks in the PPL's ammonia storage tanks (the plant had released small quantities of ammonia in orde r to ensure the safety of the tanks) led to a virtual exodus of workers. Significantly, only one port employee died: he lived in a thatched hut, having sublet his official quarters.

Several fishermen living along the Paradeep coast were killed. Although not employed by the port, they used the fishing harbour, which is part of the port complex. As soon as the cyclone warning was received, the port authorities had urged the people liv ing in the shanties in the port area to move under pucca structures. Most of them allegedly ignored the warning.

THE PPL bore the brunt of the cyclone. Its phosphoric acid and sulphuric acid plants were damaged. Between 5,000 and 6,000 tonnes of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) worth about Rs.6 crores, stored in silos, was destroyed. The boundary walls of the plant and the township collapsed. Attempts were being made to resume DAP production in November itself. However, H. Mishra, Chairman and Managing Director, told Frontline that the acid plants would not resume production immediately. An assessment of the los s suffered by PPL would take time. The condition of the equipment would be known only after power supply was restored, Mishra said.

Mishra appealed to the Centre for special assistance. The appeal, it is learnt, has not gone totally unheeded. The Centre has before it a financial restructuring proposal for PPL. However, the sanction of grant would depend on the assessment of loss. As per the proposal, the accumulated loss of about Rs.256 crores would be knocked off from the book of accounts. The present equity size of Rs.214 crores would be reduced to Rs.2.14 crores and the loan of Rs.230 crores converted into equity. The interest on the loan too has to be waived by way of book adjustments. "Once the restructuring plan is implemented, PPL will start afresh, on a clean slate," Mishra said.

The loss suffered by the DAP plant of Oswal Chemicals & Fertilisers is put at Rs.100 crores. The two-million-tonne plant, estimated to cost Rs.2,000 crores, was due for commissioning in November. Now the commissioning has been deferred until January. Abh ay Oswal, its Chairman, said that the exact extent of the loss would be known after the insurance company assessed the extent of the damage. The project's prime consultant, United States-based Jacobs, Humphreys and Glasgow, was involved in the assessment exercise.

The company, Oswal said, did relief work in 180 villages under 47 panchayats, with a total population of four lakhs. "We distributed about 1,000 tonnes of foodgrains and we will distribute another 3,000 tonnes," he said. Saris, dhotis and materials for s helters had also been distributed. The Oswals propose to spend Rs.10 crores on relief work and have involved their employees from all over the country in the operation. "We have a commitment to the people of the place where we have put up such a huge pla nt with so much investment," Oswal said.