the goan I network
VASCO
With the Dabolim airport now being asked to screen passengers amid an outbreak of coronavirus within China which has spread to other parts of the world, there are growing demands to screen ships at the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT).
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Thursday demanded that the health department install thermal scanners at the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT), especially since ships arriving from China could pose a serious health risk to thousands of direct and indirect employees at the MPT.
“The health department must immediately take steps to have thermal scanners installed at MPT to safeguard the lives of several people working for MPT and other agencies like CISF, Customs, immigration and various other port related departments,” said NCP State President Jose Philip D’Souza while speaking to media persons yesterday. “The MPT is a huge area and has over 1,500 people working in different shifts round the clock. The port gets ships calling from all over the world and so many ships come in from China.”
“There are cruise vessels, bulk cargo vessels, tanker ships, container ships and other ships that either have Chinese crew or have visited Chinese ports like Singapore. Wuhan in Hubei province of China, from where the deadly coronavirus cases began, is itself a port and there are many chances that ships arriving at MPT may have visited that port some time before calling at MPT,” said D’Souza.
“Who will check if the crew of the ship arriving at MPT have symptoms of coronavirus? The moment the ship arrives, a lot of local people working for private companies board the ship for loading or discharging of cargo activities. There are stevedores, surveyor, foreman, boarding clerks, signalmen, crane operators, who board these shops on arrival.”
“Then, there are launch operators, MPT local staff, Customs, CISF, Immigration and marine mercantile department staff who also board the ship on its arrival. Besides these, there are shipping agents and other suppliers who also visit every ship arriving at MPT,” D’Souza added. D’Souza said he would personally meet Health Minister Vishwajeet Rane and discuss the issue of having thermal scanners at MPT.
“Besides having thermal scanners in the port, the MPT officials must also check for any food stocked in the ship. Many ships stock food supplies and provisions at Chinese ports and could have it in their freezers inside the ships.”
