The Republic Day was celebrated by the Paradip Port Trust (PPT) with much enthusiasm at the Gopabandhu Stadium. PPT Chairman Rinkesh Roy unfurled the National Flag and took salute from 39 platoons in the march-past consisting of CISF jawans, college and school students and port employees retiring in 2016.
On the achievements of the port, Roy said the port has handled more than 59.71 million metric tonnes as of now in the current financial year which is 4.04% more than the corresponding period of the previous year and is continuing to be the second highest among the Major Ports in terms of cargo handling.
The port has the highest capacity among all the Major Ports, i.e., 118.50 MMT per annum. This year, the performance parameter is also quite satisfactory. A majority of the berths have been dredged to 14.5 meters draughts to handle bigger vessels. Handling of mini cape-size vessels at Central Quay-1&2 has been notified with effect from January 5.
Record achievement has been made by loading 1,20,600 MT of thermal coal in a day on January 15, surpassing the previous record of 1,08,194 MT and record unloading of 540 rakes in December 2015, surpassing the previous record handling of 492 in November 2015 . An all-time record loading of 69,000 MT of iron ore pellet in a vessel in a day has also been achieved, Roy informed.
The PPT Chairman also felicitated officers and employees of the port who have contributed outstandingly in their fields of works and awarded prizes to the platoons that exhibited best performance in the parade.
A poets’ meet was held at the Officers’ Club. In the evening, a patriotic dance competition was held among schoolchildren.