Congress led UDF raised demand that the port should be named after Oommen Chandy.

Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress-led UDF in Kerala has demanded that the Vizhinjam International Port in the capital district be named after two-time Congress chief minister Oommen Chandy as it was due to his determination that Kerala’s dream project took shape. Is.

UDF convenor MM Hasan said Chandy remained firm when the decision was taken despite several hurdles being put against the project by the then opposition CPI(M)-led LDF. “It is appropriate to name the port after Chandy as he strongly believed that Vizhinjam port, when built, would benefit Kerala,” Hassan said.

He further said that at the time of Chandy, Ports Minister K. Babu, who is currently a Congress MLA. Babu worked hard for this project. Hasan said this a day after the first mother ship carrying giant cranes from China arrived at Vizhinjam International Port, the first phase of which is nearing completion.

The ship was given a traditional water salute and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, among others, will officially welcome the ship at the port on Sunday. Incidentally, Hasan’s statement comes at a time when some trolls criticized CPI(M) for its hypocritical stance.

The troll criticized the CPI(M), saying it strongly opposed the project, terming it looting. This will decimate the fishing sector in the state, but it is now claiming that the port project has reached this point because of the foresight of Pinarayi Vijayan. He also made viral a speech by Chandy in the Assembly, in which he had taken a strong stand in favor of the project and said that he was willing to remove all doubts regarding the port.

The project was signed by the Congress-led UDF government under Chandy (2011–16) and work on the port began towards the end of Chandy’s tenure. After the Vijayan government assumed power, the pace set by the Chandy government could not be followed due to various reasons. During the launch of the port by Adani on December 5, 2015, its founder Gautam Adani had announced that the first ship would arrive here on September 1, 2018, less than 1,000 days later. But the group failed to meet the deadline due to various factors.

At present, more than 80 percent of the work of the first phase at the port has been completed. Now after the arrival of the first ship, seven more ships are going to arrive and the port will be opened for commercial operations in May next year.