Mundra
| Mundra | |
|---|---|
| city | |
  Mundra | |
| Coordinates: 22°51′N 69°44′E / 22.85°N 69.73°ECoordinates: 22°51′N 69°44′E / 22.85°N 69.73°E | |
| Country |
 India |
| State | Gujarat |
| District | Kutch |
| Elevation | 14 m (46 ft) |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 10,000 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Gujarati, Hindi |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
Mundra is a census town in Kutch district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Mundra Port is the largest private port in India.
Mundra was well-known for salt and spice trading in the past and now more for tie-dye and block-print textiles. The harbor is virtually unusable today, and only small local fishing craft navigate its silted waterways up the river.
Places of Interest
- The Mahadev temple has memorials to some sailors of town, including some who advised the Sultan of Zanzibar and guided Vasco da Gama to India.
- Darya Pir, the patron saint of Kutchi fisherpeople, arrived Mundra from Bukhara (now in Uzbekistan) in 1660. He was welcomed by the locals, introduced them to Islam, and they built the shrine dedicated to him when he died. This shrine receives visitors of many religious backgrounds seeking blessings. The Mughal Emperor built a gate in his honor, which still stands and is known today as the Mughal Gate.
- Fortification : The walls of the old city fortifications have a religious origin, as they were dragged from the ruins of the Jain city of Bhadreshwar.[1]
Geography
The town of Mundra is located about 50 km from Anjar which is one of the major towns in the district of Kutch in Gujarat. The other important towns in this district are Bhuj, Gandhidham, Mandvi & Anjar. In view of the earthquake of January 2001 which had ravaged this district, lots of tax incentives were granted for setting up new industries in this district and this has led to the rapid industrialisation of this region.
The population of Mundra town is around 60,000[citation needed] of which the majority are migrants, the city is dominated by Vaniyas and Muslims.The quality of water in this region is very poor and has a high fluoride content.
The transportation and medical facilities in the region are not very well established but this is now rapidly improving. Dabeli and Kadak are the famous snacks of city. Oswal seri is one of the oldest street and GADAASAR an important entertainment place.
A famous quote, "Vaanki Patri thi Beraaja Kapaya ne Baaroi" indicates name of small villages nearby.
The main source of income for the local people is agriculture, horticulture (Kharek and Chikoo), farming and wage labour.
The showpiece of this town is definitely the port of Mundra which has changed the economic landscape of the region. A special economic zone (SEZ) is also approved in this town around the port area.
During the January 2001 Gujarat earthquake, Mundra was the only place in the district of Kutch which was not affected by this devastation. In addition the people of Mundra did their best in the relief effort in the aftermath of the earthquake.
Mundra Port
The Port of Mundra is India’s biggest private port. Located in the Kutch district of the state of Gujarat, Mundra lies on the north shores of the Gulf of Kutch about 50 kilometers south of Anjar and 44 kilometers east the Port of Mandvi. About 60 thousand people, most of them migrants, live in the Port of Mundra.
The Port of Mundra is not only a private port, but it is also a special economic zone. Incorporated in 1998 as Gujarat Adani Port Limited (GAPL), the company began operating in 2001. The Mundra Special Economic Zone was incorporated in 2003 and was merged with GAPL in 2006. The combined company was renamed “Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone Limited.” It is India’s first multi-product port-based special economic zone (SEZ).
Port History
In 1994, the Gujarat Maritime Board approved setting up a captive jetty at the Port of Mundra. In 1998, a joint-sector company, the Gujarat Adani Port Ltd., was incorporated and multi-purpose berths 1 and 2 at Terminal I began operating. In 1999, multi-purpose berths 3 and 4 opened at Terminal I.
In 2001, the Port of Mundra signed a concession agreement with GMB for development, operation, and maintenance of the port at Mundra. Also in 2001, the private Mundra-Adipur railway line to Vasco da Gama was completed and in 2002, it was integrated with the Indian Railways.
In 2002, Guru Govind Singh Refineries Ltd. signed an agreement with the Port of Mundra to handle crude oil in the port. In 2002, additional agreements were signed with Indian Oil Corporation to set up a single-point mooring facility and handle crude oil at Mundra. In 2003, a sub-concession agreement was signed to add a container terminal in the Port of Mundra, and the terminal began operating that year. In 2005, Adani Port Limited and Gujarat Adani Port Limited were merged. In late 2005, the Single-Point Mooring became operational.
The year 2006 was an eventful one for the Port of Mundra. The Special Economic Zone at the Port of Mundra was announced. Two new berths at Terminal II became operational to handle bulk cargo. A double-stack container train began to operate. The Mundra Special Economic Zone Ltd. and Adani Chemicals chorku Limited were merged with Gujarat Adani Port Ltd., and the company name was changed to Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone Limited (MPSEZ).
In 2007, two more berths for bulk cargo were added at Terminal II, and the terminal trial run operations began. A service agreement was signed with Tata Power to produce power for handling coal cargo imports. Also in 2007, equity shares in MPSEZ were offered to the public and employees and were listed on the National and Bombay Stock Exchanges. Finally, a service agreement was signed in 2008 with Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. to handle exports of automobiles.
Port Commerce
The Port of Mundra and SEZ hopes to be a global player and preferred partner that pursues innovation in business, technological, and commercial areas. It strives to add value to partners’ activities and efforts while also reducing its impact on the environment. The Port of Mundra and SEZ is responsible for acquiring, developing, and managing knowledge to become experts in the field and to apply that knowledge across their range of business interests. As a private port, the Port of Mundra also seeks to ensure tangible and intangible profits.
As India’s largest private port, the Port of Mundra provides cargo-handling and value-added services for their customers. The multi-purpose terminals contain nine berths of a total 1.8 thousand meters long with alongside depths ranging from 9 to 16.5 meters. Berth 1 is 275 meters long with alongside depth of 15.5 meters and can accommodate vessels to 75 thousand DWT. Berth 2 is 180 meters long with alongside depth of 13 meters and can accommodate vessels to 30 thousand DWT.
Accommodating vessels to 60 thousand DWT, Berths 3 and 4 are each 225 meters long; Berth 3 has alongside depth of 14 meters, and Berth 4 has alongside depth of 12 meters. Berths 5 and 6 are each 250 meters long with alongside depth of 14 meters, and both can accommodate vessels to 150 thousand DWT. Berths 7 and 8 are each 175 meters long with alongside depth of 12 meters and can accommodate vessels to 40 thousand DWT. The Barge Berth is 80 meters long with alongside depth of 6 meters and capacity for vessels of 2500 DWT.
The Port of Mundra offers 21 closed dockside warehouses (go-downs) with capacity for 137 thousand square meters to store wheat, sugar, rice, fertilizer and fertilizer raw materials, and deoiled cakes. The port offers 880 thousand square meters of open storage for steel sheets, coils, plate, clinker, scrap, salt, coke, bentonite, and coal. An additional 26 thousand square meters of open storage is available alongside the railway. The port also offers a wheat-cleaning facility with capacity to handle 1200 metric tons per day and a rice-sorting and –grading facility that can handle 500 metric tons per day.
The Port of Mundra is planning several additions and improvements. Two thermal power plants are under construction that will produce over 8600 megawatts. A new terminal site is proposed to be located about ten nautical miles west of the current terminals at the Port of Mundra. The terminal will eventually contain three deep-water offshore berths and two sets of stackyards for coal, iron ore, and other dry bulk cargo.
In addition, the Port of Mundra’s basin on the south side of Navinal Island will be developed in two phases to enhance the chorkarmas. Scheduled to be completed in 2010, Phase IIA will include breakwaters, dredging, reclamation as well as construction of a basin container terminal, two roll-on/roll-off service berths, a craft berth, and support and back-up facilities. The railway line will be expanded, and a new dedicated berth will be added for liquefied natural gas. The Port of Mundra is also upgrading its road network, adding two lanes to the existing two-lane road.
The town’s showpiece is the Port of Mundra, which has transformed the local economy and atmosphere. The Port of Mundra was the place in addition to Abadasa and Lakhpat talukas in Kutch which were not seriously damaged in the 2001 Gujarat earthquake that devastated rest of the district.
The current capacity of port to handle 2.5 m TEU's is to be expanded to 5 m TEU by 2015, making it india's second largest container port.
Mundra Thermal Power Stations
Mundra currently boasts being home to two thermal power stations, Mundra Ultra Mega Power Plant operated by Tata Power and Mundra Thermal Power Station operated by Adani Power. These power station when fully completed will generate over 8,600 MW of electricity. The coal for the power plant is imported primarily from Indonesia.[2] Source of water for the power plant is sea water from the Gulf of Kutch.
These thermal power stations has created a vast employment opportunities. The Mundra Ultra Mega Power Plant by Tata Power for instance has created 5000 construction jobs and 700 operations-oriented jobs.[3]
See also
- Nagalpar
- Sinugra
- Pantiya
- Khedoi
- Lovariya
- Chandiya
- Chandroda
- Mindiyana
- Shinai
- Adipur
- Gandhidham
- Bhuj
- Anjar
- Kandla
- Mundra Port
- bhujpur
- fachariya
External resources
References
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