In his presentation of the budget for 2010-11, the FM made a passing reference to the Port Sector and development of new ports. An allocation of about 16000 Crores has been made to fuel this endeavour.( http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100227/jsp/business/story_12157959.jsp )
One of the areas that our arm chair planners are looking at, to set up a new port is at Sagar,just short of where the Ganga ( Hoogly ), eventually melts into the Bay of Bengal.Should this happen, the river Hoogly, would then have three ports on her banks, at Kolkata, Haldia and now Sagar.
Kolkata and Haldia are in deep ( pun intended ) trouble because of the lack of navigable depth, caused due to rapid silting of the river, preventing large ships from sailing up/down the Hoogly. River maintenance is costly and time consuming.
The port at Sagar could preclude, this problem, but are there other issues.........
1. Sagar is an open sea area & would have little or no protection from storms & Tsunamis.
2. What would be the fate of Kolkata & Haldia, considering that crores of rupees ( of tax payers money) has been spent in setting up these ports.
3. Sagar Island is location for the famed Kumbhmela & considered holy by many Hindus.........would this be reconciled in the name of development.
4. What would be the ecological damage of port development, at a new site.
One such ambitious project has drained immense funds but failed to see completion is the 'Sethu Samudram Project', where a shipping channel is being created between Sri Lanka and India. The situation has turned into a political cesspool with a stand off between politicians in Delhi, Tamil Nadu & the BJP, on how a bridge constructed by Lord Ram, could be destroyed......................while many experts cry out in frustration that the project per se is not technically feasible & even if it does go on stream would require huge annual maintenance expenditure.In other words, a collosal waste of scarce national resources!
I hope the Sagar port project does not meet a similar fate, considering the shortsightedness that politicians can display......after all its my money as a tax payer, you see.
3 comments:
i can understand your concern as a tax payer though right now i am not paying any taxes:) But government is not able to differentiate between important and urgent development..it is not understanding that there are other vital issues to be dealt first rather than breaking heads on a project which is not of priority at present. Am sure lord Rama must be amazed by Indian political senses related with sethusamundram project:)i guess with sagar project on the rolls there is some more amusement on way for rama..
this where even the government really have to take a really good decession!! cause its just one idea with many objections may it be the tax payers or politicians or even religious matters!!
well, investing so much of money into this port sagar that is very vulnerable to tsunamis, and also becomes ecological damage wouldn't be that great idea. also the annual maintainance would cost a lot and again the burden on tax payers!!
the government here should clearly analyse what exactly it wants and invest in a right way that is useful and is acceptable by people
Though you guys are not paying tax's you are losing out because money maent for the sensible improvement of infrastructure is channeled towards myopic & poorly construed projects, by corrupt politicians & babus.
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