Home guard arrested

A home guard, Bibhuti Bhusan Rout, was arrested by local police on charges of threatening to kill a woman and her husband by pouring petrol.

- STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE

Paradip Port has secured the no. 1 status in cargo handling for the second consecutive year, a feat achieved due to the port employees' resilience and strategic efforts in a challenging market, said P.L. Harandh, Chairman, Paradip Port Authority (PPA) on Friday speaking at the 79th Independence Day function.

The port on eastern coast has played a pivotal role in India's maritime progress and its commitment to sustainable growth, innovation, and employee welfare, he said while highlighting several key accolades the port received, including the No. 1 Sagar Anklan certificate for bulk cargo handling and the "Major Port of the Year-Non-Containerised Cargo" award.

The PPA has clocked an unprecedented 50.00 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) of cargo throughput by the end of July in the current fiscal year, the fastest in the port's history. The port has made significant strides in container traffic, with the first-ever handling of EXIM containers in FY 2024-25. This, combined with services from MSC and RCL and the new CONCOR Multimodal Logistics Park, is positioning Paradip as a key container gateway in the east. PPA is actively working with the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) to boost the export of marine fisheries products from Odisha, he further claimed.

Stating that the port is on track to increase its capacity to 500 MMTPA by 2047, he said that the Western Dock Project (25 MMTPA) is progressing ahead of schedule to accommodate Capesize vessels and reduce logistics costs.