Kerala - Alappuzha   

Go ahead with revival of port, Government told

Staff Reporter

Workers' council slams separate beautification project

Alappuzha: District Port Workers' Protection Council secretary B. Ansary has demanded that the State Government take the initiative to end uncertainties regarding implementation of a project for revival of the Alappuzha port and the Tourism and the Port departments make a concerted effort to implement it without delay.

In a statement here on Tuesday, Mr. Ansary said though the Government had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Mumbai-based Eco-Environmental Consultancy group for the revival of the port as a marina, the Tourism Department was, at present, implementing another project for beautifying the beach, overlapping with that for the revival of port. This was being implemented without the consent of the Port Department, which, as a result, recently stopped the beautification works, he added.

The project prepared by the consultancy had provisions for the beautification as well as pier renovation, Mr. Ansary said.

In the context, implementation of a separate beautification project in the same area earmarked for the port revival project might undermine the latter. The crying need for Alappuzha town was the revival of port. The project was drafted after 16 years of constant struggle by trade unions and the public, he said.After long struggles, a global tender was floated in 2004 and subsequently the MoU was signed. A high-level meeting had been convened on December 28 to discuss issues related to implementation of the project. When the Port Department was going ahead with the project, there was no meaning in implementing a separate beach beautification project.

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