At airport, MIAL bungling with cargo cost us Rs 200 cr: Traders

Presentation made before Civil Aviation officials by trade associations raises issues like poor storage handling at airport Questioning the work culture at the Mumbai International Airport Limited MIAL that they said was responsible for improper storage of cargo parcels getting damaged or going missing and other problems traders from various associations recently made a presentation of their woes before officials of the Civil Aviation and the Commerce and Industry ministries Cargo at the city airport lies out in the open under a cloudy sky with plastic sheets struggling to cover some of the boxes Traders say MIAL should have taken better care of costly cargo at least during the monsoon monthsTraders said the damaged goods even included costly medical devices that came with handle with care instructions and claimed the accumulated losses resulting from poor infrastructure at the city airport and mishandling of cargo were close to Rs 200 crore in the past few monthsCareless attitudeIn a detailed PowerPoint presentation made on September 26 in Delhi traders said MRI and CT scan devices worth Rs 9 crore cardiac stents worth Rs 2 crore medicines worth Rs 23 crore and automobile parts and food items worth crores were among the goods damaged in the recent pastThe airport operator does not have enough sense of responsibility to even secure lifesaving devices and medicines We keep on knocking at its door with our complaints but those people just refuse to listen said an official spokesperson of a trade association that deals in international cargoA copy of the presentation is with MiD DAY and it highlights the issues traders have with MIALThese issues include improper storage parcels going missing after landing zero accountability when it comes to damage to cargo lack of proper security in the cargo area parcels not found at defined locations and arrogant behavior of the airport cargohandling workforceOwing to the heavy monsoon and inability of MIAL to secure cargo traders have incurred huge losses There is a huge volume of cargo but limited space for it and goods get damaged because of poor handling All this is resulting in loss of production as well as loss of revenue said Mark S Fernandes chairman shipping and aviation committee of Indian Merchants Chamber For us the accumulated loss stands around Rs 200 crore in the past three to four months and despite this MIAL is not agreeing to compensate its clientele which is usFrom bad to worseFernandes said things were only going from bad to worse with MIAL showing no desire to address the issues and improve its serviceWe have brought the matter to the notice of the Aviation Minister and the Aviation Secretary and they also agree with our issues Fernandes saidAshish Pednekar president Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture MACCIA said the situation was so bad that it amounted to misuse of public moneyThere is complete lack of infrastructure for cargo at the airport The operator MIAL is virtually misusing public money The operator never updates the ministry about the ground realities but only indulges in making big claims all the time said PednekarResolution of issuesThe presentation before Civil Aviation Ministry officials was made on behalf of different merchant organisations like Indian Merchants Chamber MACCIA Federation of Indian Export Organizations Air Cargo Agents Association of India Western India Shippers Association CII and Bombay Customs House Agents AssociationCivil Aviation Secretary Naseem Zaidi said he was seized of the matter and steps were being taken to resolve the issuesThe matter was brought to our notice and we have already sent our joint secretary twice to review and fix things said Zaidi If required we will send the team again