Exporters in India are calling for the deployment of the army to clear the container backlog at JNPT Port in Mumbai, where around 15,000 boxes pile up as blocked railway lines and early monsoon rains disrupt port operations.
"The chaos cannot go on forever. We want the government to deploy the army to remove the congestion at the port," said Delhi Exporters Association president S P Agarwal in a report by the Economic Times of India.
Mr Agarwal fears the delay could lead to the cancellation of summer sale orders from the US and EU markets which would result in huge losses for the community.
The port congestion is also expected to worsen if demonstrators from Gujjar continue to block railway lines in Jaipur and neighbouring areas.
Officials of the commerce department said that attempts were being made to transport the cargo via alternate train routes to bypass troubled areas, but the longer routes were leading to delays.
"About 15,000 containers are stuck at the port. It includes both export and import cargo," an official was cited as saying.
The situation is being exacerbated as import cargo heading for north India can't be released as there aren't enough trains to take it to its destination because of protesters blocking railway lines. Likewise, with export cargo reaching the port late through diverted routes and several ships leaving without cargo, thousands of containers are stuck at the port waiting for the next ship.
Adding to the exporters' woes are the monsoon rains which have come early and have caused water-logging at the port and along port access roads.
The congestion is said to be so bad that export cargoes arriving at the port on time are failing to catch the ships as the approach to the docks is being blocked by other containers.
As a result, the JNPT port authority is requesting permission from the shipping ministry to open another terminal to handle the increased cargo. JNPT, which handles about 60 per cent of total goods exported and imported in the country, has three terminals at present, the report added.
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