A threat of closure of Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) due to massive silting of navigational channels in the Hoogly river may endanger operations of several large corporations' and the proposed chemical hub at Nayachar.
Units of large companies like Haldia Petrochemicals, Japanese company Mitsubishi PTA India and the refinery of Indian Oil Corporation will face dire concequences if the riverine port becomes unfit for navigation.
The industrial town of Haldia which so far attracted an investment of Rs 1,50,000 crore and the port's hinterland covering eastern, north-eastern India and Nepal will also be hard hit.
The proposed chemical hub on Nayachar Island, a place selected after protests in Nandigram, and a pet project of West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will also fail to takeoff if ships and tankers fail to enter Haldia Port due silt deposition in the river.
According to a research carried out by Haldia Dock Officers' Forum, HDC will face closure by December if the shoaling in the navigational channel continues at the current level.
KoPT's Director of Marine Department, A K Bagchi in his letter to the chairman and managing director of Dredging Corporation of India Ltd has expressed the fear that "the persistent shoaling trend is threatening total closure of shipping at Haldia Dock Complex in future unless the shoaling trend is reversed immediately."
The depths of the navigational channels at Jellingham and Auckland has come down to 4 metre and 4.1 metre respectively, the lowest since July 1974, KoPT sources said.