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| ABOUT DMK |
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Dravida Munnettra
Kazhagam is a leading political party in South East Asia also known as ‘The Light of Tamilnadu’. |
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| Shipping Sector |
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Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project
The prestigious Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project received personal attention of Thiru T.R. Baalu and got a big boost under his regime. The project envisages cutting of a channel to connect the Gulf of Mannar and Bay of Bengal through Palk Strait and Palk Bay so that ships moving between east and west coast of India could have a continuous navigable sea route within India's own territorial waters. The project will lead to saving in navigational distance upto 424 nautical miles (1 nautical mile = 1.852 kms.) and the saving in time upto 29.9 hours. The project will give a boost to coastal movement of cargo. A Special Purpose Vehicle, namely, 'Sethusamudram Corporation Limited’ was incorporated on 6th December 2004 under the regime of Thiru T.R. Baalu to raise finance and to undertake implementation of the project.
The approved cost of the project was Rs.2427.40 crores. The total length of the channel is 167 kms. Dredging is required in 89 kms. stretch involving 82.5 million m3 of dredged material. The designed depth of the channel is 12 mtrs below CD.
The dredging work had been awarded to M/s Dredging Corporation of India (DCI), a premier dredging company in India and a PSU under the administrative control of the Department of Shipping on nomination basis. The work commenced on 2.7.2005 and about 27.78 million cubic metres of dredging had been undertaken by the DCI. The work in Adam's Region had been stayed pursuant to orders dated 31.08.07 and 14.09.07 of the Hon'ble Supreme Court. During the hearing in July 2008, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) suggested to consider an alternate alignment between Danuskodi and lands end on Rameswaram islands. The suggestion of CJI was examined by a Committee of Secretaries following which a committee had been constituted under the chairmanship of Dr. R.K. Pachauri, Director General, TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute), New Delhi which would examine the technical aspects, cost benefit analysis, social, cultural and environmental impacts, law and order aspects and any other related matter.
Indian Maritime University
Ports and shipping play a major role in the development of a country. The ever-increasing demand of Indian Seafarers worldwide is testament of the quality of education and training received in India. Hence, there is need to further upgrade our capacity and capabilities to keep India ahead of other nations in this sector. With this premise, Baalu was instrumental in introducing Indian Maritime University Bill 2007 in the Parliament. The Bill envisaged, among other things, to establish an Indian Maritime University (IMU) at Chennai with its campuses at Mumbai, Kolkata, Vishakhapatanam and such other places within its jurisdiction as deemed fit.
Cruise Shipping
Cruise Shipping is a fast growing sector globally. As a departure from the concept of cargo and passenger ships, Cruise is like a moving township studded with all state-of-the-art facilities including all types of recreational activities. With a view to encouraging Cruise Shipping in India, Baalu initiated action to bring out a comprehensive policy for this sector.
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| Addressing Workshop on Cruise Shipping in New Delhi |
National Maritime Day Celebration
Merchant Navy Week is celebrated through out the country every year culminating into the National Maritime Day on 5th April. The 43rd National Maritime Celebrations began with the inauguration of Merchant Navy Week by Hon’ble Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on 30th March 2006 in Delhi. The function was held in South Block in which the first miniature merchant navy flag was pinned on the wearing apparel of the Prime Minister by T.R. Baalu. On the occasion, Prime Minister wished the seafarers and entire shipping fraternity a bright and successful future. He assured them of his full support and cooperation.
Inland Water Transport
Before T.R. Baalu assumed charge of the Ministry, there were only the following three National Waterways:
| River/Waterway |
Stretch |
Year of Declaration |
| Ganga |
Allahabad - Haldia – 1620 Kms. |
1986 |
| Brahmaputra |
Sadiya – Dhubri – 891 Kms. |
1988 |
West Coast Canal with Champakara &
Udyogmandal Canals |
Kollam – Kottapuram 205 Kms. |
1993 |
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| Addressing at the inaugural ceremony of IWT Terminal at National Waterway – 3, Kochi |
Given the huge potential of inland water transport in the country, the Ministry under the regime of Baalu initiated several proposals to declare new waterways. Bills were introduced in the Parliament to declare the following waterways as National Waterways:
Bhadrachalam – Rajamundry stretch of river Godavari along with Wazirabad – Vijaywada stretch of river Krishna integrated with Kakinada Canal, Eluru Canal and Commamur Canal.
Geonkhali – Charbatia stretch of East Coast Canal along with Charbatia – Dhamra stretch of Matai river, Talcher – Dhamra stretch of river Brahmani and Mangalgadi – Paradip stretch of Mahanadi Delta rivers.
Bhanga – Lakhipur stretch of river Barak in Barak Valley of Assam
Profit of Public Sector Undertakings
During the regime of Baalu, all PSUs under the Department of Shipping made steady progress. For the year ended in March 2007, Shipping Corporation of India declared a profit of Rs.1015 crore, Kochi Shipyard Ltd. Rs.58.11 crore, Hooghly Dock and Port Engineers Ltd. Rs.16.80 crore and Hindustan Shipyard Ltd. Rs.300.93 crore.
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| Presenting a cheque of Rs.3,17,30,048 to Prime Minister for PM Relief Fund on 13th January 2005 |
Receiving dividend cheque from CMD Shipping Corporation of India |
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