Shift 50 workers from damaged dock, says BMS

CHENNAI: The lives of 50 people working at the damaged Bharathi Dock are under threat and the Chennai Port Trust management should relocate them to a safer place, the Port and Dock Labour Union, an affiliate of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, said on Tuesday.In order to prevail upon the management on the ordeal of the panic-stricken employees, the Union members few days ago met the top officials of the Trust and asked them to shift the employees to safer ground from where they can continue their same work.Speaking to Express, R Santhanam, general secretary of the Union said, “Of the 50-odd employees, 15 are from Chennai Port Trust and the remaining are from Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). They stay at the damaged dock office round-the-clock to check unloading of oil.”Ever since a pathway was damaged and submerged in sea at night a few days ago, all of them were in a panic-stricken condition as the spot where they used to spend hours on duty every day has also been in same dilapidated condition for years, said Santhanam.The Union attributed the mishap to the lackadaisical attitude of the port management on conducting regular safety checks. “Had the officials checked the strength of the pathway regularly, the mishap could have been averted,” Santhanam said.Though the Trust has now halted all works at the site for carrying out repairs till September 23, they should also check the condition of the office-site, which is now standing precariously surrounded by seawater, he added.