KoPT to create Silt Trap to address silt deposition problem at confluence of Haldi river

Kolkata: In a bid to address the problem of silt deposition at the confluence of river Haldi, the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) will create a Silt Trap so that the silt accumulates on it and can be dropped at a nearby area.

"The maximum amount of silt comes right from the source of Haldi river and flows into the channel. IIT Madras has told us to make a Silt Trap which is like a very big ditch at the mouth of the river Haldi so that the silt accumulates there and accordingly dumped in a nearby area. It has already been conceptualised and IIT Madras will be preparing a DPR so that we can float tender. We hope to start work in seven months time," Vinit Kumar, chairman of KoPT said on the sidelines of the Annual Shipping Conclave organised by Bengal Chamber on Friday.

Kumar said that dredging has already started, however, the dredger can now work only for some hours as the dredged materials have to be dropped at a distance of 20 to 30 nautical miles at Sagar Islands.

"This takes three hours time and so a lot of time is wasted. We have requested the permission of the state government to give us the nod so that we can dump this silt on Nayachar Island. We are finalising this scheme with IIT Madras, wherein there will be a pipeline kind of structure, where vessels can dump this silt, from where it will go to the island," he added.

The KoPT has already moved to performance based contracts when it comes to dredging.

"The dredging company will also have to meet a draft target that they will promise in a certain period of time," a senior KoPT official said.

KoPT is targeting to achieve around 8 per cent growth in traffic handling to 55 million tonne by end of the current fiscal.

"Upto October 31 (in the current fiscal), we have handled 32 metric tonne of traffic both in Haldia Dock and Kolkata dock system as against 28 mt in the corresponding period last year," Kumar said.