A total of 3,200 tonnes of rails for the Metro project was imported from France
Tracks for the Kochi Metro Rail, imported from France, remain unloaded at the Metro site near Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, Kaloor. (Photo: DC)
KOCHI: Transporting of imported Metro Rail tracks from the Cochin port to the Metro construction yard at Kaloor has been hit after trade unions demanded exorbitant nokku kooli. A total of 3,200 tonnes of rails for the Metro project was imported from France on Saturday.
“The trade unions demanded additional charges over the normal rates for transporting the cargo from the port. The contractor company has to dole out a huge amount to meet the demand of trade unions,” said representatives of the company.
The contractor has fixed Rs 5000 for shifting one truckload of rail from the port. However, trade unions have demanded an additional Rs 1500 for each load. They have also demanded Rs 200 as refreshment charges for each load. The unions asserted that only their labourers should be employed for rail shifting.
If the rails are not immediately shifted to the Metro site at Kaloor, the company would have to pay demurrage charges to the port for using its premises. However, trade union representatives refuted the allegations saying that they only demanded that their labourers be employed for the job.
Meanwhile, the contractor agency has made it clear that it would withdraw from the task if the state government does not intervene to resolve the issue. The issue of Nokku kooli had earlier affected Metro Rail construction in certain sites and the issue was resolved after talks held by minister Aryadan Muhammad.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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