As per the directives of the Ministry of Shipping, the Paradip Port Trust (PPT) organised a Sabka Saath Sabka Vikash sammelan at the Gopabandhu Stadium here on Tuesday. The event showcased the development and initiatives taken by the Government of India, the Ministry of Shipping and the PPT during the last three years, which have led to inclusive growth and the plans for future development.
Chief guest Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Jual Oram inaugurated the Sammelan and enlightened the gathering on the various programmes and initiatives of the Central Government in the last three years. He said programme implementation at the grassroots level is possible in a federal structure of governance only with the active cooperation from the State Government.
Guest of honour Odisha Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries & Animal Resources Development Dr Damodar Rout stressed on creation of an industry-supportive environment at Paradip. In a federal structure, active cooperation between the Union and State Governments would help in the development of the nation, he said.
Welcoming the dignitaries, PPT Chairman Rinkesh Roy said the PPT has been maintaining the second position consecutively for four years in terms of traffic handled amongst all Major Ports.
The Paradip Port has been providing many user-friendly facilities like online berth and plot allotment, RFID-based control system, 100% cashless transaction, e-tendering, e-auction and e-procurements, Mobile App.
Roy said that as a part of capacity augmentation under the Sagarmala programme of the Union Government, an outer harbour is purposed to be developed at a cost of `8,767 crore to handle large cape size vessels up to 2 lakh DWT up to 22m draught and expected to be operational in 2021.
Besides, the PPT is all set to develop a world-class, globally- competitive Smart Industrial Port City at a cost of `2,770 crore and would make Paradip a hub for MSMEs.
Notably, the PPT has been awarded by the Ministry of Shipping for Best Performance among Major Ports in 2015-16 and for 2nd Highest growth in traffic for 2016-17.
Besides, the PPT has bagged the Smart Port Award for 2017 at the Smart logistics Award Summit organised by the Maritime Gateway Shipping Journal recently in Bhubaneswar.
A cultural programme was conducted by the Sagarika Kala Niketan, which enthralled the audience.
The Sammelan was attended by over 3,000 people, including women and children, from nearby areas. PPT Deputy Chairman N Vaiyapuri purposed a vote of thanks.
