Kochi port to carry out trial run of fertiliser bagging unit soon

OUR BUREAU, THE HINDU BUSINESS LINE
KOCHI, APRIL 23:
The automated fertiliser bagging unit procured by the Cochin Port Trust is likely to be functional shortly.

At a meeting convened by the Labour Commissioner, the issues connected with the installation of the machine have been resolved following talks between the port management and the trade unions.

It was decided at the meeting to carry out the trial run of the machine within one week in the presence of officials from the Labour Department, the Kerala Head Load Workers Welfare Fund Board and labour unions.

The trial run will be conducted by deploying four workers each from the CTTU and the CITU, who opposed the installation of the machine initially. Senior port officials said that the operation of the machine on a regular basis will be decided after the trial run is over.

It may be recalled that the functioning of the bagging unit was delayed due to stiff protest from the trade unions over the use of machine to bag fertilisers. The bagging unit arrived at the port in the first week of March and the management could not operate it following protests.

The port management had even approached the State Government seeking its intervention to resolve the uncertainty.

The bagging unit comprises of grabs, hopper, bagging plant, weighing machines, stitching machines and a conveyor belt. Each bagging plant comprises two bagging lines. A bagging unit can handle 140 tonnes of fertilizer (2,800 bags of 50 kg) an hour.

The port management was prompted to introduce mechanisation owing to the recent delay in clearing fertiliser imported by FACT and the Indian Potash Limited in November last year.