The victory of the Telugu Desam Party’s Lok Sabha and Assembly contestants in Machilipatnam has revived hopes of locals on the speeding up of the proposed deep sea port in Machilipatnam.
Machilipatnam MP Konakalla Narayana and MLA Kollu Raveendra were once front runners of the protest for completion of the proposed deep sea port. In a gesture, Mr. Narayana had met then Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, seeking measures on war footing for land acquisition for the pending project, while Mr. Kollu Raveendra sat on a dharna for the project.
In early 2014, Krishna District Collector M. Raghunandan Rao had submitted a report to the government of Andhra Pradesh, estimating that Rs. 495 crore was required to acquire 5,282 acres of all kinds of land and promise of rehabilitation and resettlement of 563 families in Machilipatnam mandal. Many locals offer their opinion that the report has paved a clear way for the new government by guiding it to speed up land acquisition process.
“We strongly believe the TDP, which is credited with the construction of Avanigadda-Puligadda bridge on river Krishna, will realise our dream of having a deep sea port at Machilipatnam,” said former Andhra Jyateeya College of Education principal R. Ranga Rao. It is learnt that the completion of the Machilipatnam port was the prime issue in the manifesto of Mr. Narayana and Mr. Raveendhra, who were voted to power with an unexpected majority.
