the goan I network
VASCO
As efforts have been stepped up by the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) to move the stranded tanker MT Nu-Shi Nalini, loaded with naphtha and grounded off the Dona Paula coast, to the port in the next few days, Urban Development Minister Milind Naik has objected to any attempt to store the naphtha in tanks of Ganesh Benzoplast Limited (GBL) at Upper Jetty in Vasco.
Naik along with a large group of residents assembled outside the GBL storage site at Sada and warned against storage of naphtha in the tanks located in a residential area.
Speaking to reporters, Naik said: “I had also written to the MPT chairman on Tuesday about my objection and suggested that the naphtha should be discharged from the ship and transshipped directly from the midstream without bringing the ship alongside a berth, to avoid exposure of the inflammable material on the shore.”
Naik said he had also met Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to voice his concerns after residents began approaching him in the matter.
“Though I was informed by the chief minister that he would not allow storage of naphtha at GBL, the MPT chairman has been pressuring the government and is trying to insist on storing the naphtha in GBL.”
“In case I am not given clarity in the matter, I will have no choice but to gherao the MPT chairman with a large group of residents in the area on Wednesday,” warned the minister.
“I am given to understand that steps are being taken to offload naphtha from MT Nu Shi Nalini at MPT by bringing the vessel alongside and storing naphtha in GBL tanks at Upper Jetty and to further transport it via road through tankers.”
“Being the local MLA and minister, I have to consider the safety of people in the densely populated area and hence I have serious objection to storage of naphtha in GBL tanks,” said Naik.
Claiming that it was the MPT chairman who had got the ship at MPT, Naik accused the chairman of plans to get rid of naphtha without being bothered of residents in the area.
