No officer in charge of hazardous waste at port

The post of assistant manager, in-charge of hazardous wastes, at the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) has been lying vacant for the past two years. The last assistant manager had retired in 2008.

The post of assistant manager, in-charge of hazardous wastes, at the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) has been lying vacant for the past two years.

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The last assistant manager had retired in 2008.

Rahul Asthana, chairman of the MbPT, said: “The port doesn’t really receive such hazardous wastes to merit an assistant manager.”

When pointed out that the port did have assistant manager, in-charge of hazardous wastes two years ago, Asthana admitted: “We do have such

a post, but it has remained vacant for some reason. I’ll

look into the matter and find out the reason.”

Officials at the MbPT admitted that the post requires an officer who has in-depth knowledge about chemicals and hazardous wastes and know how to deal with it.

The officials added that the person to be appointed for the post has to either be a chemical engineer or have a BSc in Chemistry.

RM Murthy, PRO, Transport & Dock workers’ Union, said: “Having such an officer in-charge could have ensured an effective disposal of such hazardous wastes. However, the fact that they didn’t bother recruiting anyone shows

their lack of interest in dealing with such hazardous wastes, thus putting lives of workers in danger.”