For over a week now, hundreds of container-carrying trailers are blocking normal traffic on the roads leading to Chennai Port. In many places, there are as many as three trailers standing next to each other blocking the entire carriageway, leaving only the service lane for ordinary vehicles.
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M.S. Arun, chairman, National Association of Container Freight Stations (Chennai chapter) said that bunching up of unscheduled ships from Singapore and Colombo had caused the container yards inside the port to overflow, which meant export trailers were unable to enter the port carrying their containers. “Both export and important trailers are all made to wait together causing congestion on the roads. Delays due to the two cyclones that hit the State have also added to the issues,” he said.
E. Kalimuthu, a trailer driver said that vehicles were now taking 3-4 days to enter the port due to all the waiting on the roads.
“The police are also not helping but are allowing trailers in randomly. The police are present at five locations on these roads but do not do anything to ensure smooth flow of traffic,” he said.
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J. Raja, joint secretary of the Iron and Steel Trailer Owners Association, said that they were unable to enter or exit the yard at Sathankadu due to the congestion. “The police are not allowing us to leave the yard. We are asking drivers to leave the trailers in the yard and go home at times. Ordinary buses and other vehicles too, are getting stuck in the snarls,” he said.
Port Chairman P. Raveendran urged exporters to ensure that they send out containers only after they have Form 13 from the shipping line and terminal. “We have asked Customs to have two more locations for checking of seals and Form 13. We have also arranged for movement of containers by rail with a guarantee of 12 hours of being placed on the ship. If exporters use this facility, it will help bring down congestion on the roads,” he said.