Close on the heels of the restriction imposed for trucks carrying rocks to the under-construction Vizhinjam port site by Tamil Nadu, the State Ports Minister Ahammad Devarkovil has written to Tamil Nadu Minister for Mines and Water Resources Duraimurugan and Minister for Dairy Development Mano Thangaraj who is in charge of Kanyakumari district, requesting to review the new restrictions imposed by the Tamil Nadu government.
According to a recent order issued by the Tamil Nadu Transport Commissioner, only multi-axle trucks having 10 wheels loaded with 28 metric tonnes of rock will be allowed for service. The order is perceived as a major setback for the government’s efforts to complete the Vizhinjam project on time as rocks required for the project are being collected from both inside and outside the State.
In the letter addressed to the Ministers on Monday, Mr. Devarkovil has requested to waive the newly introduced restriction considering the larger interest of the country and national importance of the maritime project. The work on the port has been stalled after the onset of southwest monsoon which aggravates rough sea conditions and coastal erosion along the coast of Kerala. The full-fledged work will begin after the four-month southwest monsoon.
In the meantime, the port developer will stock the rocks sourced from different parts of the State and Tamil Nadu at the yard here for resuming the work after the monsoon. The State government and port developer Adani Vizhinjam Port Pvt. Ltd. have been making frenetic effort to complete the work before May 2024.
