A file photo of cargo being handled at the Krishnapatnam container terminal.
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Polit Bureau member Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy on January 20 expressed concern over the decision to shift the prestigious container terminal at the Krishnapatnam Port from Nellore to Tamil Nadu.
“This will result in loss of employment to over 10,000 people and loss of ₹1,000 crore revenue to the State exchequer,” Mr. Chandramohan Reddy told the media here.
“The container terminal in Nellore is all set to be closed on January 24. It’s horrible that the YSRCP government has not responded to the adverse development,” he said.
Mr. Chandramohan Reddy said the party would launch an agitation to save the Krishnapatnam Port, which “is the result of several sacrifices made by the farming community.”
“The container terminal of the Krishnapatnam Port competes with the ports in Chennai, Visakhapatnam, and Mumbai. It is painful to know that the situation of such a reputed port, which provides transshipment facility overseas, has turned pathetic after the Adani Group took it over after obtaining Central government permission,” the TDP leader said.
“After the YSRCP came to power, the transactions at the port have came down by ₹5 lakh crore,” he said.
Mr. Chandramohan Reddy said that the foundation stone for the Krishnapatnam Port had been laid in 1996 when N. Chandrababu Naidu was the Chief Minister, and the project was completed during the term of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.
“An agitational programme will be chalked out by roping in all the parties to save the Krishnapatnam Port,” he said.
