Kandla Vikas Manch launched to save Kandla port

Finding the country's first post-independence port, Kandla, in a state of neglect despite having adequate financial resources at its disposal, the business community in Kutch met on October 2 to form a non-political organisation, Kandla Vikas Manch, to press forward its demand to hasten the developmental activities at the port.

"The five-decade old port has been number one handler of cargo in the country seven times ever since its inception despite lacking proper infrastructure facilities. The port has the highest birth occupancy of more than 95% both in India and in the world, which means that there should be more cargo berths and more handling equipments," said Mohan Aswani, ex-trustee, KPT, and one of the founding members of the Manch.

He further says, "The government had allocated Rs15000 crore for the port under the National Maritime Development Programmes. Every shipping minister during their visit has talked of timely implementation of the projects. However, these projects mostly remain on the paper, and meanwhile, new private ports in the neighbourhood have started thriving. This must be halted or Kandla port would be soon dead." He was addressing the fraternity of traders and businessmen, who were interested in speeding up the development of the port. 

The meeting also discussed the port's pressing problems, the timely solutions to which, if not provided instantly, the operations are likely to come to a stand still. It was also pointed out that according to international legal requirements, Kandla being a tidal port, all ships were to be navigated only by the port's pilots from Tuna Outer Buyo. But, there are only four pilots against the sanctioned strength of 11.

There are also no facilities for repair of either the port craft or private crafts.

The private power plant has not been commissioned. The port has also lost its assured cargo of coal, cars, steel to Mundra port for lack of facilities.

Aswani said that they will not hesitate to venture into agitational path both at local and national level as this involved the very question of existence of the port. The port, a substitute to Karachi, was conceived by Sardar Patel and nurtured by the country's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru who had came all the way from Delhi in the early fifties to lay the foundation stone. He had described it as the modern temple of modern India.