Pranab Mukherjee concerned over Haldia port

Kolkata, Dec 24 : Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Thursday expressed concerns over the diminishing navigability of Haldia Port.

"It is absolute necessary to maintain proper navigability of Haldia port as it does not cater to Kolkata only, it caters to the whole northeast India," Mukherjee said at the inauguration of the 23rd Industrial India Trade Fair here.

"It is the lifeline for Kolkata and the northeast India and I will speak to my colleagues in the department concerned about the problem," the finance minister said after West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee raised the issue.

The depth of the two main channels of the Haldia Dock System -- Auckland and Jellingham -- is decreasing rapidly and has reduced to 3.8 metres due to siltation.

"This should ideally be 5.5 metres and 5 metres, respectively," a port official told IANS.