Move for setting up a Monitoring Committee for Machilipatnam Port

East coast abuzz with activity

16 May 2008
HYDERABAD: The East coast is buzzing with activity now. With the state government focusing on ports as another major infrastructure that can be developed jointly with private players, five ports are in the process of becoming major business hubs.

The five ports - Krishnapatnam, Gangavaram, Vodarevu, Machilipatnam and Nizampatnam - are expected to provide an unprecedented logistic support to the industrial sector in the state, particularly in locations like Nellore that are now bursting with activity.

"More ports need to come up. The concept of Way Ports that are very close to each other make transportation of goods easy for the entire country," Capt P V K Mohan, chairman of the high-powered committee on ports, told TOI. According to him, once the ports get ready, transportation of heavy goods like steel and cement would shift to sea, leaving national highways for lighter products like FMCG goods and electronics.

Two of the five ports - Gangavaram and Krishnapatnam - are at an advanced stage of construction and would be ready for operations shortly. While a consortium led by former VisualSoft promoter D V S Raju is developing theGangavaram port with an outlay of Rs 3,500 crore, infrastructure major Navayuga group is developing the Krishnapatnam port. Incidentally, like the now operational GMR-led Hyderabad international airport, the two ports too were conceived during the TDP regime. "Along with these two projects, the other three too are progressing as per schedule. Smaller ports on the East coast like Rawa, Bheemunipatnam, Kalingapatnam and Bhavanapadu would add to the series of ports we are planning," a senior official in the government said.

A consortium led by Maytas Infra has been awarded the Machilipatnam port project while another consortium with N Prasad, former chief of pharma major Matrix, has taken up works at Nizampatnam and Vodarevu. "These are much bigger projects than an international airport. However, since they cater to the industry and not to a common man, they do not have the kind of glamour an airport has," the official explained.

The industry, meanwhile, is waiting for the ports to become operational to cut down on the cost of raw material transportation. For instance, Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) alone is expected to save about Rs 150 crore on transportation of raw material once the Gangavarm Port becomes operational. In fact, a dedicated conveyor belt is being laid from the port to the VSP site for transporting raw material.

"Every port has something interesting to offer. Several units that depend on Chennai port have problems in plying lorries through the villages en route since the villagers tend to resist and stop the vehicles. Krishnapatnam port will not have that problem," the official said.

MACHILIPATNAM >> A Rich History and a Great Future

Machilipatnam, also known as Masulipatnam or Bandar or Masula (for short among Finnish mission workers), is a city and a special grade municipality in Krishna district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The town existed since 3rd century BC(Satavahana period) when it was known as 'Maisolos' (Ptolemy) and as 'Masalia' (Periplus).[3] Flourishing sea trade was carried out from Masula port. The port is located on the southeastern or Coromandel Coast of India. Situated on one of the mouths of the river Krishna at the Bay of Bengal, Machilipatnam is the administrative centre of Krishna District in the state of Andhra Pradesh. It was a 17th century port for French, British and Dutch trade. It has a medium fishing harbour which can accommodate 350 fishing vessels; has a carpet-weaving industry; other products include rice, oilseeds and scientific instruments. This town is a railway terminus and an educational centre.

Machilipatnam is known for its Kalamkari textiles and paintings created using vegetable dyes. As a kalam (pen) is used in the technique of painting, it was named "Kalamkari Painting". During the 17th century, western traders were attracted by this art.The city is also well-known for its sweet dish called Bandar Laddu.

Machilipatnam was a flourishing seaport on the east coast during the time of the Satavahanas. Periplus mentioned that a great quantity of muslins are made in Masalia. The word 'muslin' originated from the name 'Masalia'.

In the 17th century CE, the port was a centre of French, British and Dutch trade. It is one of the earliest known British settlements in the subcontinent of India, its importance being due to the fact that it was the major port of Golconda kingdom. It was the British East India Company's first trading post on the Coromandel coast. An agency was established there in 1611 CE. During the wars of the Carnatic, the English were temporarily expelled from the town, which was held by the French for some years. In 1759 CE the town and fort were captured by Colonel Forde, an achievement followed by the acquisition of the Northern Circars (q.v.). In 1864 a great storm-wave swept over the entire town and is said to have destroyed 30,000 lives.

Machilipatnam is located at 16.17°N 81.13°E on the southeast coast of India and in the east corner of Andhra Pradesh. The city has an average elevation of 14 meters (45 feet).

Machilipatnam has many small scale industries.Fashion Gold (also called rolled gold) ornaments are made here. Famous gold covering companies are National gold, Uma gold Raja gold and etc. are the pillar of fashion gold industries in Machilipatnam. Agriculture is the most important occupation, paddy being the main food crop produced.

Tourism
Machilipatnam is a city with a rich history of foreign conquests, business and trade. The beaches in Machilipatnam are long, broad, pristine, with pale blonde sands.

* Manginapudi Beach, a beach side fishing hamlet, located at a distance of 11 km from Machilipatnam, is well known for its scenic beauty and also as a historic port city. During its heyday this port served as a gateway to India. The beach has a natural bay with shallow waters. The unique feature of this beach is that instead of sand it contains black soil.

* Panduranga Swamy temple at Chilakalapudi, near the city, close to the Manginapudi Beach, is a famous piligrimage site. It is a temple of Lord Vishnu, said to be similar to the temple at Pandaripur.

* Ghantasala, 21 km from Machilipatnam, it has the remains of an old Buddhist stupa.

* Agastheeswara Temple, 36 km from Machilipatnam, is a temple of Lord Shiva, a piligrimage site. Lord Shiva at this temple is called by the name, Ekaratri Mallikarjunaswamy. An annual festival is celebrated at this temple when the deities are taken out in procession.

* Gudivada, North west of Machilipatnam, visitors are attracted by the old ruins of the stupas.

Further up the coast of Machilipatnam there are five temples dedicated to Lord Shiva. These ancient temples are located at Amravati, Samalkot, Bhimavaram, Draksharama and Chebrolu.

* Shivaganga temple is one of the oldest temples located on the Avanigadda road attracts tourists and devotees all through the year. On Shivratri major celebrations are carried out by the temple trustees.

THREE Districts to Benefit from NH-214

Kakinada, May 14: The National Highway 214 from Kathipudi in East Godavari to Pamarru in Krishna district is expected to come into full utilisation by the first half of 2010 with the completion of the road bridge on Vainateya river en route.

The highway, for a distance of 242 kilometre, was taken up by the ministry of surface transport and highways (MSTH) to meet changing transport needs along the coast of East, West Godavari and Krishna districts in the coastal Andhra region.

The highway, which starts at Kathipudi from NH 5, connects NH 9 at Pamarru. It passes through Pithapuram, Kakinada, Yanam (under the Union Territory of Pondicherry), Mummidivaram, Amalapuram, Bodasakuru, Chinchinada, Bhimavaram to Pamaru in Krishna district. It covers the coastal areas of the three districts it passes through. At present, it takes a diversion at Bodasakurru between Amalapuram and Chinchinada in the Konaseema area at the Gannavaram aqueduct.

The road bridge at Bodasakurru on the Vainateya branch of river Godavari was taken up at a cost of Rs 70 crore in 2007 and is expected to cater to changing transport needs by the first half of 2010. On coming into full utilisation, the road is expected to provide a link road along the sea coast from Prakasam to East Godavari.

NH 214 A from Digumarru in West Godavari (near Narasapuram) to Ongole in Prakasam passes via Krishna and Guntur districts for a distance of 254 km. The road, in the next couple of years, is also expected to cater to the needs of industrial units being promoted along the coastal areas of the districts in addition to transport needs of the K-G basin off shore drilling operations in which major entrepreneurs like ONGC, Reliance, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) and Cairn Energy are involved.

Besides this, the NH is also expected to cater to the needs of the farming community for transporting farm produce along the area. NH 214 and 214 A executive engineer B. Mallikarjuna Rao said that the two highways would come into full utilisation with the completion of road bridges by first half of 2010

Jewellary Park near Machilipatnam

A rolled gold jewellery park will come up at Pothepalli near Machilipatnam. Nearly 250 units will be established in the park proposed to be developed in 42 acres. Laying of roads, levelling of site and construction of compound wall are in progress.

The park is being established by the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) and industries minister J. Geeta Reddy will lay foundation stone for the park on December 16. Minister for rural water supply P. Venkateswara Rao, MP B. Ramakrishna, besides district officials, will participate in the function.

The project will be completed in 18 months and the land was allotted adjacent to Autonagar in Machilipatnam. Tenders for the laying of the road at an estimated cost of Rs 1.5 crore were invited, while Rs 2.40 crore have been allocated for power lines and other equipment and Rs. 1.45 crore for drinking water facility. An amount of Rs 5 crore were allocated for internal roads and development of other amenities at the park.

Machilipatnam and its surrounding areas are popular for the rolled gold industry where hundreds of families get livelihood through the industry and the government was keen on supporting the artisans by providing all facilities. The park is aimed at supporting the artisans to produce articles in a big way. The articles are in good demand and will be marketed in other States.

Also, there was a demand for shifting of the rolled gold manufacturing units from the habitations as they were causing air and water pollution due to the chemicals used in gold and nickel coating of ornaments. The pollution is causing inconvenience and illness to locals.

The proposal to shift the industry to the outskirts was pending since 1980 and the Machilipatnam Imitation Jewellery Park Society was set up to realise the park. Local MLA P. Venkataramaiah visited the site on Saturday night during his stay at a social welfare hostel in Pothepalli. District collector Navin Mittal said that works of the rolled gold jewellery park were expedited with a view to provide a suitable and encouraging atmosphere to the artisans.

Top Firms in Race for Hyderabad to Machilipatnam NH9 project

Hyderabad, May 4: Construction majors such as GMR, L&T, Nagarjuna and Reliance Constructions are vying to grab the lucrative National Highway 9 expansion contract. The Centre had cleared the NH9 expansion project as part of the National Highway Development Programme phase-3 on Build-Operate-Transfer basis. Besides the Hyderabad-Vijayawada stretch, the Vijayawada-Machilipatnam stretch was also included in the programme to ensure connectivity to the upcoming Bandar Port.

Sources said the National Highways Authority of India is currently scrutinising the pre-qualification bids for the Rs 1,600-crore project and the process would be completed by the month-end. In all, 19 bidders have applied for the pre-qualification process for the Vijayawada-Hyderabad stretch (181-km) and 21 for the Vijayawada-Machilipatnam portion (64-km).

NHAI sources said the financial bids are expected to be finalised by the end of May and the agreement with the successful bidder will be signed in June. The successful bidder would be chosen on the basis of the company’s turnover, financial capacity, work experience and network, said the sources. Meanwhile, the state government has initiated the process of acquiring about 1,200 acres of land in Nalgonda and Krishna districts for the expansion of the Vijayawada-Hyderabad NH9. Besides, another 450 acres has to be acquired for the expansion of NH9 stretch between Vijayawada and Machilipatnam.

The Union Transport Secretary, Mr Brahma Dutt, visited Hyderabad recently and reviewed the project with the Transport Department principal secretary, Tishya Chatterjee, and other senior officials. He wanted the land acquisition process completed well in time so that the expansion works would not be hampered. There are 66 villages between Vijayawada and Hyderabad through which the NH9 passes and where land has to be acquired.

Revenue authorities in Nalgonda and Krishna districts completed the basic survey of land in 61 villages while the remaining steps are expected to be completed soon. "A formal notification for acquiring 1,200 acres of land will be issued soon after the survey work is completed," said a NHAI official overseeing the project. The NHAI has decided to build by-pass routes to prevent destruction of some villages on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad stretch.

Courtesy : Deccan.com