Figure 9.10: Gopalpur port structure

Figure 9.10: Gopalpur port structure

Gopalpur port is one of the non-major port in east coast of India placing Ganjam in international maritime map. This port was first constructed by Soraine family during post medieval era. Then after independence it came under the Government authorization. Recently it got semi privatised for redevelopment under Shapoorji Palonji group of port pvt.ltd. It is well connected to road NH16 and railway network. It is at same distance from Paradeep port present towards North and Visakhapatnam towards south aapprox 260km. It has a cargo handling capacity of 20 MT per annum. The port is having 3 bearths of 800m and drop of 15.5m depth is capable of handling multiple cargos at a time

Cargo exports are, Thermal coal,Cooking coal, Iron ore fine, Iron ore pellets,Limestone, Gypsum, Salt, Cement, Steel, Fertilizer. Hinterlands for the export are Odisha,West Bengal,Jharkhand,Chattishgarh. Maritime logistic services to Steel industry, Cement industry, Mining industry, Chemical industry.

This port is present towards the South of Rushikulya river basin which is a turtlr nesting point. Due to oil spills it is affecting the sea water and lives of aquatic animals. Due to this fishermen are also getting affected.

9.4.8 Brief study on Gopalpur Port

9.4.9 Study on Olive Ridley turtle nesting point Olive Ridley turtles are globally distributed and well known for their synchronous nesting behaviour also called arribada. They prefer to nest on tropical sandy beaches with major mass nesting beaches in Odisha coast in India. Rushikulya is the second biggest mass nesting site of Olive Ridleys in India after Gahirmatha marine sanctuary which is the northernmost olive Ridley mass nesting rookery in the Bay of Bengal Odisha and is one of the largest arribada beaches in the world. Every year, millions of Olive Ridleys gather on a five-km-long sandy stretch of beach from Purunababdh to Podampeta, for mass nesting (Figure 9.4.6). These endangered species flock the place from the third week of February to the first week of March for nesting. Even though occasional nesting occurs in Odisha coast throughout the year turtle sighting in the near shore water during this season is rare. Around river mouths, the Odisha Coast has the right kind of nesting beaches. Turtles prefer the deltaic areas with sand pits along this shore, therefore it's a good place for them to lay their eggs. Turtles take into account environmental factors such as sea currents, the sun’s position, surface winds, temperature, seasons, and the moon.