CHENNAI: Infrastructure bottlenecks and connectivity issues need to be addressed immediately, that too in a time-bound manner, Umesh Pujara, chairman of the Consultative Committee of City Chambers of Commerce (CCCCC) observed here on Wednesday.
Briefing reporters on the pathetic state of roads connecting Chennai Port, Umesh said, “Industrial and economic development in the state is likely to be stagnant if the road connectivity is not addressed immediately.” The Ennore Manali Road Improvement Project (EMRIP), envisaged in 1998 to facilitate faster movements of cargo and container- laden vehicles upto Chennai Port, has been under ‘implementation’ for the last several years. the delay in completing this all important infrastructure project would definitely tear apart the State’s image in the near future, he remarked.
While Chennai’s export-import (EXIM) trade had grown manifold over the last five years, the road network remained the same leading to severe bottlenecks in the approach roads, he added.
The social effect of the neglected road network were” horrendous” as the last two years’ statistics showed a sharp increase in road accidents.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Container Freight Stations, a national body of inland container depot and container freight stations from all major ports and hinterland in India, on Wednesday announced that they had decided to request the state government to start the EMRIP work immediately to help the ailing EXIM trade.
The association also warned that if there was no action by the state government soon, its members would be forced to withdraw the evacuation of the import containers from port terminal to all the container freight stations (CFS) indefinitely from January 10, 2009.
Toeing a strong line against the delay of the road project, the All India Motor Transport Congress also on Wednesday announced that lorries, vans and container trailers would not be operated from December 20 for an indefinite period.
Source : Expressbuzz