Mumbai rains take a toll on Gujarat exports

Export activities from Gujarat have been hit hard due to heavy rains in Mumbai. In Gujarat, there are over 500 containers lying at Vadodara and Ahmedabad International Container Depo (ICDs).

Containers are not reaching Jawahar Lal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) as traffic on road and rail lines is not moving smoothly.

The trains carrying containers by Container Corporation of India Limited (Concor) for exports destined towards JNPT, Sheva in Navi Mumbai have not been able to move for last six days resulting in hiccups in transport schedules of ready goods and materials.

There are about 400 containers piling at Concor depot at Ahmedabad and Vadodara.

"We have not sent any train since July 27, on account of heavy rains in Mumbai and surrounding centers though the passenger trains are operating normally more or less. The problems are around Konkan and Kalyan routes where trains are not moving due to water logging and poor visibility. Industries have virtually stopped their bookings for containers towards Mumbai. Meanwhile, we are allowing our clients to cancel their bookings and move their cargo through road transport if they wish," said Mukul Jain, chief general manager, Concor-Gujarat.

Industry watchers are of the opinion that a number of exporters may miss their deadlines as well as production cycles in industries may also get adversely affected as imported containers carrying raw materials may not reach in time.