Kolkata ferry services face disruption after the Kolkata Port Authority sealed a warehouse at Armenian Ghat and a ticket counter at Fairlie Place over ₹11 crore in unpaid lease dues, affecting facilities used by the Hooghly River Waterway Transport Cooperative Society.
The action was taken on Wednesday evening in the presence of Kolkata Police, according to a report by Anandabazar. The warehouse stores fuel, spare parts and batteries used to operate the launches that connect Kolkata and Howrah. The Fairlie Place ticket counter was also sealed, forcing ferry operations at the ghat to stop immediately.
Nikhat Parvez, the Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies serving as administrator of the transport cooperative, said the storage room had been sealed without prior notice. She said this could create serious operational problems because the cooperative stores launch fuel, essential equipment and batteries at the facility. The administrator said the state cooperative department was being consulted on the matter.
The cooperative’s Kolkata-side offices, warehouses and ticket counters are located on land leased from the Kolkata Port Authority. Ferry terminals in rural Howrah, meanwhile, are located on land leased from the Howrah Zilla Parishad. The district body had also issued a notice over unpaid dues of ₹34 lakh, according to information cited from the district cooperative department.
The latest action has raised concerns over the continuity of a ferry service used by thousands of office workers, students and daily commuters travelling between Kolkata and Howrah. The service provides a faster river connection between the two cities, and any prolonged interruption could force passengers to depend on alternative road or rail routes.
A senior Kolkata Port Authority official said the authority would remove the fuel from the sealed storage room the following day so that ferry operations would not be affected. The official said the authority had previously instructed the cooperative not to store fuel at the location and had taken the decision because a stoppage would create difficulties for passengers.
The administrator said the launches could continue operating only as long as their existing fuel supplies lasted. She added that the cooperative would discuss with the state cooperative department how services could continue if the warehouse remained sealed.
The cooperative is also facing financial and administrative difficulties. The district cooperative department said monthly lease payments to the Kolkata Port Authority had stopped after the Trinamool Congress government came to power in 2011. The report also referred to allegations of irregularities within the organisation and said the cooperative had become financially weak.
The organisation employs around 230 people, whose salaries are frequently delayed by two months, according to the report. Employees expressed concern over wages and the possibility of a further disruption to ferry operations. The immediate operational question is whether the Port Authority’s planned removal of fuel will allow the service to continue while the lease arrears and the cooperative’s broader financial problems are addressed.
