Export revenue loss Rs 5 B
By Sulochana Ramiah Mohan and Lankesh Gooneratne-
November 15, 2014
The 32-hour-strike, by the private container truck drivers and their assistants, at the Colombo Port on Thursday, caused a staggering export loss of Rs 5 billion.
Importers and exporters of refrigerated meat, crabs and jumbo prawns suffered, mainly due to the current supply to containers being left unplugged for 18 hours, claimed President of Eksath Lanka Container Transportation Owners' Association (SLPA) and Federation of Container Transport Owners' Association, Udeni Kaluthanthri.
Container drivers staged a protest on Wednesday night at the Ingurukade Junction, obstructing the entry point to the port, protesting against the work ethics of the Customs and Security officials at the Port, who were demanding heavy bribes from the drivers to let them leave the premises.
Kaluthanthri said, "I can't exactly say how many containers were left out without electricity supply but fish exporters suffered a major loss."
He also added that officials who take bribes were pointed out to Project Minister of Highways, Ports and Shipping Rohitha Abeygunawardena however, the minister didn't address that issue.
He said the minister promised to take precautions.
Another main issue was that the trucks take nearly nine hours to go from the Port gate to the loading point, which is only 5km, due to unnecessary checking and paper work.
Meanwhile,the Sri Lanka Ports Authority admitted that some of their officials have been involved in taking bribes from the truck drivers.
"We are aware of it and will be taking strict measures to see that it will not occur in the future. The matter has been resolved, a senior official at the Project Minister's office of Highways, ports and shipping told Ceylon Today.
The Eksath Lanka Container Transportation Owner's Association (ELCTOA) had tabled 11 demands and the minister had agreed to solve them all, the Association president said.
They have demanded effective solutions for the actions taken by the Port Ministry and officers from the Custom at the No.7 gate.
Furthermore, several agreements were reached on implementation of documentation centre around the clock, signal lamps at the Ingurukade Junction, easing the congestion at gate No.7 of SLPA and to ease traffic with the first come first served basis, Sanitary facilities for the truck drivers and regular port users and few other requests.
By Sulochana Ramiah Mohan and Lankesh Gooneratne-November 15, 2014
The 32-hour-strike, by the private container truck drivers and their assistants, at the Colombo Port on Thursday, caused a staggering export loss of Rs 5 billion.
Importers and exporters of refrigerated meat, crabs and jumbo prawns suffered, mainly due to the current supply to containers being left unplugged for 18 hours, claimed President of Eksath Lanka Container Transportation Owners' Association (SLPA) and Federation of Container Transport Owners' Association, Udeni Kaluthanthri.
Container drivers staged a protest on Wednesday night at the Ingurukade Junction, obstructing the entry point to the port, protesting against the work ethics of the Customs and Security officials at the Port, who were demanding heavy bribes from the drivers to let them leave the premises.
Kaluthanthri said, "I can't exactly say how many containers were left out without electricity supply but fish exporters suffered a major loss."
He also added that officials who take bribes were pointed out to Project Minister of Highways, Ports and Shipping Rohitha Abeygunawardena however, the minister didn't address that issue.
He said the minister promised to take precautions.
Another main issue was that the trucks take nearly nine hours to go from the Port gate to the loading point, which is only 5km, due to unnecessary checking and paper work.
Meanwhile,the Sri Lanka Ports Authority admitted that some of their officials have been involved in taking bribes from the truck drivers.
"We are aware of it and will be taking strict measures to see that it will not occur in the future. The matter has been resolved, a senior official at the Project Minister's office of Highways, ports and shipping told Ceylon Today.
The Eksath Lanka Container Transportation Owner's Association (ELCTOA) had tabled 11 demands and the minister had agreed to solve them all, the Association president said.
They have demanded effective solutions for the actions taken by the Port Ministry and officers from the Custom at the No.7 gate.
Furthermore, several agreements were reached on implementation of documentation centre around the clock, signal lamps at the Ingurukade Junction, easing the congestion at gate No.7 of SLPA and to ease traffic with the first come first served basis, Sanitary facilities for the truck drivers and regular port users and few other requests.
