Kolkata’s launch service faced immediate disruption after the Kolkata Port Authority sealed a warehouse at Armenian Ghat and a ticket counter at Fairlie Place over Rs 11 crore in unpaid lease dues, affecting the storage and sale arrangements of the Hooghly River Water Transport Cooperative Society.
The action was taken on Wednesday evening with Kolkata Police present. The warehouse stores fuel, spare parts and batteries used to operate the launches. The Fairlie Place ticket counter was also sealed, and launch operations from that ferry point had to stop immediately, according to the cooperative society.
Nihat Parvez, the assistant registrar of cooperative societies serving as administrator of the organisation, said the warehouse had been sealed without prior notice. She said the action would create a major operational problem because fuel and essential equipment were stored there. The administrator added that the state Cooperative Department was being consulted on the issue.
The cooperative society operates launch services on the Hooghly between Kolkata and Howrah. Its offices, storage rooms and ticket counters on the Kolkata side are located on land leased from the Kolkata Port Authority. Launch jetties in rural Howrah are built on land leased from the Howrah Zilla Parishad.
The Howrah Zilla Parishad had also issued a notice over dues of Rs 34 lakh, according to the cooperative department sources cited in the report. The latest action by the port authority followed the society’s failure to deposit the Rs 11 crore lease arrears.
The service is used by thousands of office workers, students and daily commuters travelling between Kolkata and Howrah. The river route provides a faster alternative for many passengers, particularly those crossing between the two banks during peak travel periods. A prolonged interruption could therefore affect daily mobility beyond the immediate closure at Fairlie Place.
A senior Kolkata Port Authority official said the authority would remove the fuel from the sealed warehouse the following day so that launch operations would not be affected. The official said the port authority had previously instructed the society not to store fuel at the location and had taken the step because a suspension of launch services would create difficulties for passengers.
The cooperative society’s administrator said the launches could continue only as long as the fuel already available on board lasted. She said the organisation would discuss how to maintain services if the warehouse seal was not removed.
The dispute also comes amid prolonged financial stress within the cooperative society. District cooperative department sources said monthly lease payments to the port authority had stopped after the Trinamool Congress government came to power in 2011. The organisation has also faced allegations of irregularities and is described as financially weakened.
The society currently has around 230 employees, whose salaries are frequently delayed by two months, according to the report. The latest sealing has raised concerns among workers about fuel availability, wages and festival payments. The immediate operational step announced by the port authority is the removal of fuel from the warehouse, while the state Cooperative Department is expected to discuss the continuation of the launch service with the society.
