Southern States - Andhra Pradesh   

A boon for new Kakinada port

By Our Staff Reporter

Rajahmundry Oct. 18. The Railways and the Kakinada Seaports Limited, the consortium operating the deepwater port here, would jointly undertake the project of laying a new line (siding) connecting the port station and the new port. The project, costing Rs. 15 crores, would pave the way for boosting the cargoes at the port, B. Dattatreya, the Union Minister of State for Railways, has said.

The Minister was addressing a press conference at the Kakinada town station on Friday after visiting the port station and new port. He said the Railway Board had agreed in principle to the project and the modalities would have to be worked out. Admitting that the infrastructure at the port station was very poor, he said Rs. 15 lakhs would be spent on immediate improvement of facilities at the station in the next one or two months.

He said the freight at the port station would increase to 5.8 million tonnes by 2005 from the present level of 3 lakh tonnes and the facilities would have to be improved. On the issue of bringing Kakinada on the main line, hanging fire for more than five decades, he said the Railways had sent a proposal to the Government to lay a line between Pithapuram and Kakinada, at a cost of Rs. 68.27 crores, but it had to be cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. The Railways had sanctioned a nominal grant of Rs. 1 lakh for the project, he said.

He said the work on the restoration of the Kakinada-Kotipalli line was going on briskly and the project, costing Rs. 64.69 crores, would have to be completed by March, 2004. Till now, Rs. 15.25 crores had been spent on the project. The Minister could not specify when the Kotipalli-Narsapuram line would be completed. He said Rs. 8 crores had been allocated for it in the current budget and the total cost would be Rs. 329 crores. He said these projects were taken up at the instance of the late speaker, G.M.C Balayogi, and they would be pursued vigorously to honour his memory.

Referring to the demands of the local members of Parliament, V. Geetha and M. Padmanabham, for two rail overbridges at Sambamurthynagar and Perrajupeta in the town, he said there was no dearth of funds for overbridges and, if the State Government forwarded the proposals, they would be taken up immediately. He said three rail overbridges would be constructed connecting Anakapalle, Duvvada and Bhimavaram.

Earlier, at the Cocanada Chamber of Commerce hall, Dantu Surya Rao, the president of the chamber, said the port station was grossly neglected though it was earning Rs. 98.5 crores per annum.

M. Padmanabham, MP, sought halts for Faluknama Superfast Express and Coramandel Express at Samalkot. S.S Krishnaji, the president of Andhra Pradesh Passengers' Association, submitted a memorandum to the Minister.

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