The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Nagapattinam News : Nagapattinam port suffers damage

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 28, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Nagapattinam

Nagapattinam port suffers damage

By Our Staff Reporter

NAGAPATTINAM, DEC. 27. Besides the heavy loss of lives, the tidal waves appear to have caused extensive damage to the port here.

The port, which once handled passenger and cargo streamliners, is now mostly used for import of crude palm oil and export of cement. Earlier, the port was also a major exit point for onion and some rice export. There has been a lobby seeking a revival of the port as an intermediate port in view of the increasing congestion at the Chennai and Tuticorin ports. The Government recently sanctioned Rs. 5 crores for development works at the port.

The tsunami has damaged some of the old structures in the port campus, including the office of the junior engineer, though the oil storage tanks and storage godowns are intact. However, two of the four barges from which oil is pumped to the on-site storage tanks have been swept several meters into the Kaduvaiyar river while another has been thrown over the wharf. Though there is no major structural damage, putting the barges back into operation could involve some expenditure. Twisted electric poles and bundles of jute bags lay scattered around. The compound wall of the port complex had collapsed at several places.

Around 250 fishing vessels in Keechankuppam and Akkarapatti that were anchored at the Kaduvaiyar have been swept under the force of the tidal waves. Many of them lay scattered around the port complex and over the Nagapattinam-Nagore railway line.

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