Odisha's Gopalpur port resumes operations

The Gopalpur port on Odisha's southern coast on Saturday resumed operations after a gap of two years.

Sri Lankan vessel "Grace" with a shipment of around 20,000 tonne of sand of Odisha Sands Complex (OSCOM), a unit of Indian Rare Earths Ltd (IREL) anchored at the dock in Ganjam district.

Operations stopped after the Phailin cyclone hit the state's southern coast in October 2013. A year later, the port was hit again by another cyclonic storm, Hudhud. Several portions of the port, including its breakwater, had been damaged following the cyclonic storms.

State Transport Minister Ramesh Majhi flagged off the re-functioning of Phailin-ravaged Gopalpur Port in presence of local MP Siddhant Mahapatra.

"Some more cargo vessels have lined up to anchor during the current month. About five cargo vessels would anchor at the port," said Manmohan Moharana, director (operations) of Gopalpur Port Limited (GPL).

According to sources, the port had incurred around Rs.250 crore losses due to Phailin.

The seasonal port was upgraded to an all-weather port in May 2013.

"The port has been repaired with enhancing of its cargo handling capacity. There is no problem to receive the big vessels in the repaired port," said Moharana.