Sea erosion destroys turtle eggs in Rushikulya river mouth near Berhampur

Berhampur (Odisha): A large number of eggs of Olive Ridley turtles were destroyed due to sea erosion in the mouth of Rushikulya river near Berhampur city in Odisha's Ganjam district where the endangered sea species nest. "We think around 10 to 20 per cent of eggs were washed away due to the sea erosion," divisional forest officer, Berhampur AK Jena said.

Around 1.06 lakh eggs were laid by Olive Ridley sea turtles in the Rushikulya river mouth, one of the nesting sites in the state in February.  Very few Olive Ridley turtles had nested in the place, where largescale sea erosion was taking place, DFO said. Local activists, however, said around 50 per cent of the eggs washed away in the high tidal wave.

The sea erosion took place just ahead of their hatching. The hatching is likely to be taken place in the second week of this month, about 45 days of the nesting, experts said. "As a large number of eggs destroyed due to the high tidal wave, this year very few hatchlings are likely to emerge from the eggs," said an expert.

Instead of their traditional site, the Olive Ridley turtles had nested in a new site, measuring about two-km near the river mouth. The new site is like an island and very vulnerable to sea erosion, DFO said.

He said the forest officials were waiting for the baby turtles, which are likely to emerge from the eggs from April 15 to 20. ? We will take steps to protect the baby turtles by deploying forest staff and volunteers in the area? he said.

Besides the famous Rushikulya river mouth, other famous nesting sites of the Olive Ridley sea turtles are Devi river mouth and Gahiramatha of Odisha coast.

Source: Zee Tv

City bus service mooted for Greater Berhampur under PPP

Source: The Sambad

GPL announces financial closure - Stage set for all-weather Gopalpur port

Gopalpur Ports Ltd (GPL) announced financial closure for the first phase of its all weather direct berthing deepwater port at Gopalpur. The company would be constructing breakwaters with at least three or four berths to handle large vessels with associated material handling equipment, stockyards, warehouses and railway infrastructure in Phase-I.

Managing Director Mahimananda Mishra said that the closure was achieved with a consortium of 11 banks coming forward to support with a total loan amount of Rs 848.78 crore. The loan agreement was signed with the consortium led by Punjab National Bank, Bank of India, State Bank of India, SB of Travancore, Dena Bank, OBC, UBI, Union Bank, Indian Bank and UCO Bank. For the first time, the largest infrastructure financer India Infrastructure Finance Corporation Ltd has participated in a project in Orissa. The project is estimated to be to the tune of Rs 1,400 crore with the rest of the funding relying on investment by promoters and internal accruals.

Following the financial achievement, the stage is set for conversion of the minor port to an all-weather one. Environmental clearance for the project is under process of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and is likely to be handed over soon. “We expect to land the necessary clearances in the next month and a half, and target completing the first phase work in 18 months. GPL has already started the process of awarding contracts,” Mishra said. The port after full development is envisaged to handle 25 million tonne of cargo.

Jointly promoted by a consortium between Orissa Stevedores Limited (OSL) and Sara International Limited (SIL) and operational under a concession agreement from the State Government, the port currently has an anchorage facility and open from September to May.

Director Charchit Mishra said that the port handled five million tonne of cargo during the last shipping season 2009-10 marking an overwhelming 90 per cent increase over 2008-09. The port directly employs 4,500 persons and has revitalised the local economy of the area, he said.

Source: The New Indian Express

GPL to invest Rs 1,150 crore in second phase expansion of Gopalpur Port

BERHAMPUR: The Gopalpur Port Limited (GPL), a consortium of three companies, proposes to complete the second phase of the port project in the next two years at an investment of about Rs 1150 crore. “The banks and financial institutions have agreed to finance the port project after it gets the environmental clearance. The approval is expected at any time from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)”, said Manmohan Moharana, director, GPL. At least ten banks and financial institutions have formed a consortium to finance the port project. They include Punjab National Bank, Union Bank, State Bank of Patiala, Oriental Bank of Commerce, UCO Bank, Dena Bank, United Bank of India, State Bank of Travancore, Indian Bank and India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL).

The second phase of the project is expected to be completed within 24 months of getting the environmental clearance. The state government has requested the MoEF for early clearance of the project following the recommendations of the Orissa State Coastal Zone Management Authority (OSCZMA). The Gopalpur port project is being developed by Gopalpur Port Limited (GPL), a consortium consisting of the Orissa Stevedores Limited (OSL), Sara International Limited-New Delhi and Noble Group of Hong Kong.

It may be recalled that the defunct port at Gopalpur had started its operations within three months of signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the state government and GPL in 2006. GPL has already invested Rs 200 crore in the first phase of the project. Meanwhile, the port has handled around four lakh tonnes of cargo so far in this fiscal as against 2.5 lakh tonnes in 2008-09. The port is likely to handle around one lakh tonnes of cargo by April 15, 2010 which marks the close of the current shipment season. In 2010-11, the port hopes to see its cargo traffic grow to one million tonnes.

Source: Business Standard