Meet calls for renewed efforts to get port at Ramayapatnam

Ongole: It is the state government which has to take a decision in favour of the Ramayapatnam Port and the people representing Prakasam and Nellore districts should build a movement for it, opined the speakers at a conference organised by the Prakasam District Development Forum (PDDF) here on Friday.

Speakers at the meeting in Ongole opine that the Port will be quite beneficial to people of Prakasam and Nellore districts

The speakers include Ongole MP Y V Subbareddy, Nellore MP Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy, Kanigiri MLA Janke Venkatareddy, Kavali MLA Ramireddy Prathap Kumar Reddy, MLC Karanam Balaramakrishna Murthy, other politicians and members from public organisations in Nellore and Prakasam districts.

Chunduri Ranga Rao, president of PDDF, pointed out that the Union government had proposed construction of two ports, one in West Bengal and another one in Andhra Pradesh as part of its Maritime Policy in 2012. After conducting a study, the state government informed the Centre that Ramayapatnam port is economically, environmentally and technically better than the ports proposed at two other places, Nakkapalli in Visakhapatnam district and Dugarajapatnam in Nellore district.

Former Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy during the Congress regime had announced that the foundation stone for the Ramayapatnam port would be laid. But later, due to the lobbying by Chinta Mohan, the then Tirupati MP, the government announced that the port will be constructed at Dugarajapatnam and ordered for a feasibility report.

The committees from organisations like RITES and Visakhapatnam Port Trust reported against the Dugarajapatnam considering the location of Sriharikota Rocket Launch Centre, Pulicat Lake, Nelapattu bird sanctuary, need for repeated dredging, the already existing private port at Krishnapatnam and distance from the rail and road connectivity and the panels wrote in favour of Ramayapatnam.

Now the NITI Aayog also took a decision against Dugarajapatnam as thousands of crores of rupees are required for land acquisition, Ranga Rao pointed out.Karanam Balaram wondered why there has been a delay in construction of Ramayapatnam Port.

He said the Prakasam district is rich in mineral resources which need to be exported from Ramayapatnam Port. He pointed out that Visakhapatnam Port Trust chairman M T Krishna Babu also said that Ramayapatnam Port will be number one port technically. He opined that all political parties should fight unitedly for the port.

Nellore MP Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy said Ramayapatnam Port will be beneficial for the people of Prakasam and Nellore districts. He said Union Minister for Ports Nitin Gadkari had informed him that the Centre was ready to provide funds for the construction of Ramayapatnam Port but the State had failed to submit a request. He said the YSRCP was ready to support the TDP government if it takes a decision in favour of Ramayapatnam Port.

Ongole MP Y V Subba Reddy pointed out that the NDA government had denied the Special Category Status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh. He said this was the right time to exert pressure on the Central and State governments on Ramayapatnam Port.
The YSRCP will extend support to all the public organisations fighting for the port construction, he said.