MUMBAI, MARCH 24: The strike called by the transport workers at Mumbai Port Trust (MBPT) entered its sixth day on Tuesday. The stir has paralysed the container traffic with an estimated 5,500 containers being stranded at the port.The stir has also resulted in diversion of traffic from the port to adjoining ports including Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT). "Two vessels which were waiting to be docked at MBPT have left for some other port," said an official.Currently, five container vessels at the port are half unloaded while four ships are still waiting to be berthed."MBPT will lose heavily if the strike continues as the ships will prefer to be docked at ports in Gujarat or JNPT," said Western India Shippers' Association (WISA) secretary S R L Narasimhan. He felt that the state government should also intervene in the issue.The flash strike was called by workers of around 15 transport companies on Thursday. About 3,000 workers have joined the agitation which has brought the de-stuffing andstuffing operations at the port to a virtual halt.MBPT officials, who earlier described the situation as `under control', have started admitting the seriousness of the problem. According to sources, the worst-affected by the strike will be perishable goods, including 250 tonnes of onions meant for exports to Malaysia (Penang) and Singapore.The strike was initiated by 45 workers of Kasturi Transport Company last week. The workers were later joined by workers from other transport companies. The workers of Kasturi Transport refused to resume work as their employer wanted to shift all the 18 trucks of the company to JNPT.
