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Minister bemoans work disruption at Kochi port

KOCHI: Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food K.V. Thomas has called for concerted efforts to avert any situation that threatened the very existence of the Kochi Port.

Talking at a reception organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) at Mattancherry near here on Saturday, Mr. Thomas lamented the sporadic incidents that interrupted the smooth operation of the port.

He reminded that it was not the only major port in the country hinting that recurring disruption did not augur well for the port.

The Minister said that it was an era of stiff competition and that the Kochi Port was not an exception.

Mr. Thomas said that the fisheries harbour at Thoppumpady would be modernised at a cost of over Rs.10 crores.

He said that the Union government had made a historical move in the form of the proposed Food Security Act, which he claimed, was the first of its kind in the world.

Talking on the occasion, Anilkumar N. Prabhu, president, ICCI, called for suburban train (Main electrical multiple unit-MEMU) services centred around Kochi to resolve the congestion felt on the city roads.

V.K. Ebrahim Kunju, MLA, offered felicitations. Kishor Shamji, president of India Pepper and Spice Trade Association; N. Radhakrishnan, president of the Cochin Rubber Merchants Association; Mahesh N. Joshi, president of the Cochin Hill Produce Merchants Association; M.J. Kuriakose of the Cochin Oil Merchants Association; M.K. Ajit president of the Tea Buyers Association; and A P Johny, president of Grain Merchants Association; presented before the minister specific problems relating to their respective trade. Jasbir Singh Chawla, vice-president of ICCI also spoke on the occasion.

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