Andhra Pradesh: Ready to touch Adani’s feet for revival of container terminal: Somireddy

Nellore: Sarvepalli MLA Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy said that in the interest of farmers and people and more than 10,000 people who have lost their jobs, I will fall at the feet of Adani if ​​necessary. He along with TDP, BJP, Jana Sena and CPI leaders held a meeting with Adani Krishnapatnam Port CEO GJ Rao and PRO Venugopal on Thursday and discussed the renovation of the terminal, salary hike and other issues. Later he inspected the container terminal yard. The MLA submitted a memorandum to the port authorities demanding to bring back the container terminal to Krishnapatnam port and resume operations. Speaking to reporters later, Somireddy said that revival of the port is their main objective. He said that the export and import of shrimp, fish, chilli and other products have come to a standstill. He said that before 2019, exports and imports used to take place in 10 lakh containers, which generated an annual revenue of Rs 900 crore to Rs 1,000 crore for the state government. The MLA alleged that though there was no loss by continuing the terminal operations, the port authorities had shifted the container terminal to Chennai only due to pressure from former Agriculture Minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy. More than 12,000 people lost their jobs due to the closure. Somireddy assured all help from the state government. He said that we will also meet the Centre if needed. The MLA made it clear that they are ready to launch agitations and even sacrifice their lives if the container terminal at Krishnapatnam Port is not revived. It is noteworthy that six months before the 2024 elections, Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy launched a protest against the shifting of the container terminal from Krishnapatnam port to Chennai and alleged that former minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy was behind it. As part of damage control measures, Kakani Govardhan Reddy received the ship at the port and thanked the port authorities for resuming the terminal operations. In a press conference the very next day, TDP leader Chandramohan Reddy alleged that the ship was carrying empty containers without loading, leading to a political controversy.