The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Pittakonda set to emerge a landmark

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Sunday, Feb 24, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Pittakonda set to emerge a landmark

Santosh Patnaik

Care has been taken not to cause any damage to it, says official

Box-office hits like Maro Charitra, Sindhuram and Gulabi were shot there
Sonia Gandhi being invited for commissioning of the Gangavaram Port

— Photo:K.R. Deepak

Set To lure tourists: A view of Pittakonda at Gangavaram Port in Visakhapatnam.

VISAKHAPATNAM: Pittakonda, also known as Pigeonkonda, which is the favourite rendezvous for film shoots at Gangavaram, will soon turn into a landmark for foreign crew entering the new port in merchant vessels.

Brushing aside fears in certain quarters, a senior official of the Gangavaram Port Limited told The Hindu that it would soon attract seafarers at the new satellite port. As per the Master Plan, adequate care has been taken not to cause any damage to Pittakonda. Accordingly, the berths are being designed and built, he said.

Pittakonda used to be an ideal location for picnicking. Bats and pigeons flock the small rock formation in the middle of the sea.

Gentle waves playing hide and seek with the coastline was also attracting young couples who used to spend long hours on top of it.

Fishermen used to take tourists in their traditional boats on payment during the daytime till the State Government handed over the entire area to D.V.S. Raju-led consortium for construction of an automated port in the private sector.

Box-office hits including Maro Charitra, Sindhuram and Gulabi were shot at Pittakonda.

The spokesman said they would retain the original shape of Pittakonda and beautify it further with rock illumination. Architects were also being consulted on how to multiply its beauty, he added.

Commissioning

UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi is being invited to commission the first phase of Gangavaram port project with five berths built at a cost of Rs.1,800 crores by April-end or first week of May.

Master Plan

As per the Master Plan, there will be 29 berths including some at 20 meters depth to handle ships with 3,00,000 DWT.

The management wants to construct 29 berths much before 2020 with a total capacity of 200 million tonnes.

As per the National Maritime Plan, the cargo handling capacity should go up to 1,070 million tonnes by 2011.

At present, all the ports put together are handling a throughput of 575 million tonnes.

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