Foundation stone was laid for the construction of coastal berth – a jetty for domestic commercial cargo ships – at the Old Mangaluru Port on Monday. The construction is being taken up under the Sagarmala scheme at a cost of ₹65 crore with the Union government contributing ₹25 crore and the State government ₹40 crore.
This new berth will have, among others, a commercial wharf, double-lane approach road, passenger lounge, two warehouse buildings, and a facility to dredge. The berth would accommodate 70 cargo vessels up to 5,000 tonne capacity. The new berth is likely to be ready in three years.
Foundation stone was also laid for the capital dredging at the Bengre side of the Old Mangaluru Port, which is estimated at ₹29 crore. It is proposed to dredge for 7 meters from the Bar Mouth to the Main Commercial Channel and 5 meters at the North Wharf.
Speaking on the occasion, Dakshina Kannada Member of Parliament Nalin Kumar Kateel said the new berth will improve the movement of goods from and to Mangaluru. The Central government will begin the work of constructing fishing jetty at Kulai in February 2021. Another fishing jetty will come up in Hejamady.
D. Vedavyas Kamath, Mangaluru city south MLA, said with the new berth in Bengre, cargo vessels from different parts of the country can land at the old port. Presently, only boats with 500 tonne capacity are arriving at the port.
Mr. Kamath said 11 lakh tonnes of the sand dredged following capital dredging will be used to prevent sea erosion in Someshwar.
Opposition
Opposing the two projects, activists of the Democratic Youth Federation of India claimed that local residents have been kept in dark about the work. The activists said the projects were coming up in a densely populated area where there are more than 10 houses and several fish drying tents. A part of the playground of the government secondary school has been earmarked for the project, the activists said.
The activists submitted a memorandum to Mr. Kateel.
