Further compounding the problems at labour unrest-hit Haldia Dock Complex in West Bengal, port equipment operator Haldia Bulk Terminals (HBT) Wednesday decided to quit the complex, citing poor law and order.
"We have decided to pull out from the Haldia Dock Complex," HBT chief executive Officer Gurpreet Malhi said in a communication to the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT).
"For us, safety and security of our employees is of paramount importance," Malhi told reporters, referring to the abduction of three officers of the company by a mob Sunday.
The state government and the police have, however, called the abduction as a "cooked-up story".
"We cannot work in an environment where the authorities responsible for ensuring law and order have openly abandoned their responsibilities," Malhi said.
"And we have been writing to the Kolkata Port Trust as they are the principal employers. But no action has come forth from the port trust and the district administration," he said.
HBT's decision to quit comes a day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the situation in Haldia was peaceful and accused a section of the media "with vested interest" of exaggerating things and trying to malign the government.