The Hindu Business Line : Polls bring Kakinada old port back into the limelight

THE anchorage port of Kakinada, on which more than 10,000 workers mostly fishermen are dependent, has emerged as a key issue in the electioneering this time.

Both the Telugu Desam and the Congress are trying to win the confidence of the fishermen by renewing their commitment to protect the old port.

The new deep water port with three berths was built during the nineties with a loan of Rs 325 crore obtained from the Asian Development Bank.

The fishermen were promised that the cargoes such as fertilisers, rice bran, soyabean, wheat and rice being traditionally handled by the old port, would not be diverted to the new one. But subsequently in the late nineties the Telugu Desam Government handed over the operation of the new port to a private consortium, Kakinada Seaports Ltd, for a period of 20 years and there has been trouble since then with periodical conflicts over alleged cargo diversion by the new port authorities.

The old anchorage port is mainly dependent on the agricultural cargoes and is capable of handling 2.5 million tonnes of cargo per annum. During the nineties, the age-old wooden boats used for carrying cargoes to and from the ship were replaced with steel barges and concerted efforts were made to improve the functioning of the port by reducing pilferages.

Still, the port suffered decline and only when there were rice or wheat exports the workers could get sufficient work and only during those years there was some relief for them. In this backdrop, there have been frequent clashes during the past three to four years over alleged cargo diversion. What actually constituted the traditional cargo also remained a mystery, as there was plenty of ambiguity in the pertinent clause and the district authorities were unable to resolve the conflicts. The latest clash over alleged cargo diversion by the new port related to handling of iron ore, with the workers of the old port contending that it was a traditional, reserved cargo. The new port authorities contended that it was a self-generated cargo, not a traditional one. After a prolonged dispute, the two parties finally agreed upon a formula of cargo-sharing.

The Telugu Desam is facing flak for privatising the operation of the new port and for alleged neglect of the fishermen community. Mr V. Venkateswara Rao, local MLA in the dissolved Assembly, has been fielded again by the Telugu Desam.

The anchorage port issue is likely to have a substantial impact on the elections to Kakinada Assembly and Lok Sabha seats. The poll will be held on Monday in the second and final phase.

More Stories on : Shipping | Politics | Andhra Pradesh

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
SriLankan Cargo to double capacity at Colombo airport

Blueprint to make Hyderabad major aviation destination

Ships without P&I cover to be denied entry into ports

`Sagar Mala project may spur minor ports' development'

Polls bring Kakinada old port back into the limelight

IIT study on soil conditions — `Proposed site for Kochi terminal need to be raised '