After Vizag bagged the third cleanest city and the railway station bagged top rank in terms of sanitation, it is now the Port’s turn to lay up the tag in the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan. Visakhapatnam Port has been declared the second cleanest port among 12 major ports by the Union Shipping Ministry. Haldia port which was ranked first is only 30 marks ahead to VPT.
In response to the call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for implementation of Swacch Bharat Abhiyan, the Swacchata Pakwada programme was conducted from March 16 to 31 in VPT striving for cleanliness. During Swatchta Pakwada, the Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, shipping, chemicals and fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya visited VPT on March 18. He personally participated in the beach cleanliness programme and appreciated the efforts taken by VPT in up-keeping cleanliness in the various areas of VPT and also its surroundings.
Krishna Babu, who returned here after receiving the award in Panaji from minister Nitin Gadkari, said the employees of the port, the stevedores as well as the stakeholders had cooperated wholeheartedly in keeping the port clean. Measures like waste management, recycling of sewage water, dust suppression, generating solar power and constructing high-rise wall to prevent spread of particles had helped Visakhapatnam score more marks than other major ports.
He said that the port had undertaken massive mechanisation for the past few years to reduce pollution. VPT had undertaken projects worth rs5000 crore to make it world class by increasing the capacity from 98 million tonnes to 135 million tonnes by 2019. Half of the sum had already been spent on the ongoing projects.
