Port announces trailer-hiring tariff to check hidden costs

Kochi: The Cochin Port Trust has announced substantial reduction in container trailer hiring charges to and from the port with immediate effect. The steps have been taken to rationalize the transportation charges and to eliminate hidden costs therein.

Earlier, a committee constituted to suggest reasonable hiring rates of container trailers and lorries came with the new tariff rates and are fixed on the basis of various parameters.

The trailer charges with in the city would now cost Rs. 200 and Rs. 300 for with in the State and Rs. 400 for outside the State. The Port Trust would hereafter reimburse the users the penalty paid by the transporters on over weight charges levied by the Motor Vehicles Department on production of actual receipts.

The daily incentives, famously called – Bata to the trailer crew would be continued from the transportation charges since this has been taken into account while calculating the transportation charges, till next revision of wages.

The Port has asked the users not to pay more as what has been prescribed.

The port authorities, employees' unions at the port, port users as well as other stakeholders have requested cooperation of all concerned to ensure that all undesirable collection of money ended immediately.

The Port Trust Chairman said that the port has been making 'relentless efforts to provide competitive and cost-effective services to the export-import sector.' The efforts had been redoubled in the light of allegations of 'unrealistically high transportation charges of containers from and to the Kochi port and also of forcible collection of money from container lorries.'

The committee also recommended that all 'undesirable collections' such as kettukasu, brokerage on container transport, commissions and 'hidden charges' for transportation of containers should be stopped forthwith.