It appears that the irksome impasse at Kolkata Port Trust has reached a climax of no immediate advantage to anyone. On the one hand, the CEO of Haldia Bulk Terminals (HBT), run by the ABG-LDA combine, Mr. Gurpreet Malhi blamed KoPT for their decision to terminate their contract with KoPT which they have intimated through a letter to KoPT with a copy of the letter marked to the Calcutta High Court. The total breakdown of law and order at the Haldia port was put forward as the reason for this decision. Mr. Malhi also pointed out that HBT has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 60 crore from their operations at Haldia complex against their investment of about Rs 150 crore. Asked whether, on account of this termination of the contract, HBT had to pay any compensation, Mr.Malhi said that there was no provision in the agreement. The response of the Kolkata Port Trust Chairman Mr. Manish Jain, on the other hand, was that the allegations of HBT were “frustrating”. In fact, they have refused to accept their decision. Mr. Jain said that HBT had acted in haste since their applications for resuming operations were pending before the Calcutta High Court.
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