Following the incident, which sent 120 people to hospital, Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) officials have decided to discontinue the handling of hazardous cargo transported in containers at the port.
The handling of hazardous cargo might be stopped at the Haji Bunder port in Sewri, where a chlorine gas leak was reported on Wednesday. Following the incident, which sent 120 people to hospital, Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) officials have decided to discontinue the handling of hazardous cargo transported in containers at the port. MbPT chairman Rahul Asthana said: “We will table this proposal in the coming board meeting.”
But, he said, the port will continue to cater to the import of piped petrochemicals and lubricants. He said hazardous cargo should be handled at less congested ports outside city limits.
State transport minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who visited the gas leak site on Thursday, not only endorsed the view, but also went a step ahead, demanding all forms of waste handling to be shifted from the city.
The move won’t hurt port revenue much. The volume of hazardous cargo at the port has come down over the past decade, said a senior port official. At present, it accounts for hardly 1% of traffic.
Last year, the port handled cargo of over 54 million tonnes, with petrochemicals and lubricants accounting for the lion’s share.
But hazardous waste handling can be shifted outside the city only with the shipping ministry’s nod. However, restricting access of hazardous waste in containers is a decision the board can take on its own, a port official said.
Meanwhile, a day after the gas leak, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) served MbPT a notice for alleged non-compliance with pollution control norms.
Sent by MPCB member secretary Radheshyam Mopalwar, the notice observed that three tanker terminals operating from the port premises did not comply with the norms, asking MbPT to rectify this. But a senior MbPT official said two of the terminals are not inside the port trust premises. The notice also asked the trust to dispose of all un-cleared hazardous cargo. It has sought a detailed report on the gas leak.
The trust has started its own probe of the incident. MbPT deputy chairman Shrikant Singh has been appointed to look into the reasons for the leak and fix responsibility.
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