Businessmen in Ongole in Andhra Pradesh have urged the Union government to establish the proposed major port at Ramaiahpatnam of Prakasam district instead of Dugarajapatnam in Nellore district. The businessmen claimed that the major port was originally planned at Ramaiahpatnam and appealed to the Centre not to shift it to Durgarajapuram.
The businessmen delegation comprising tobacco exporters, farmers, granite exporters, and other sections of the trade and general public advocated that the location of Ramaiahpatnam would be more closer to the centres of production and more convenient to the trade.
In Ongole, they passed a resolution in this regard urging the Union Government to set up the major port in Ramaiahpatnam only. Many of the speakers at the meeting, which held on October 9, said that initially three sites were short-listed for setting up of a major port on the Andhra Pradesh coast and they were Nakkapalli in Visakhapatnam district, Ramaiahpatnam in Prakasam district and Dugarajapatnam in Nellore district.
The Navy objected to Nakkapalli on security considerations and there were also objections to Dugarajapatnam in Nellore district, as it was too close to Pulicat lake and also the space research centre at Sriharikota. Therefore, the speakers said, Dugarajapatnam was found lacking both on security considerations and on ecological grounds. The technical committee of experts favoured Ramaiahpatnam in Prakasam district and it was felt by one and all that the announcement was only a formality.
But at the juncture lobbying prevailed in New Delhi and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) plumped for Dugarajapatnam, they said.
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