While Sarojamma, a daily laborer aged 42, lights her stove in the courtyard of her hut in Nelaturu village of A.P.’s Sri Potti Sriramulu (SPSR) Nellore district to make bajjis for her two children—aged 12 and 14—the hot oil begins to sizzle. She squints at the frying pan in search of any ash specks and flicks one away with a gentle tap.
Pynampuram is situated close to the Sri Damodaram Sanjeevaiah Thermal Power Station that was set up by Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation Ltd in March 2014 with an initial capacity of 800 MW and is more commonly inhabited by tribals.
The village has nearly about two thousand five hundred inhabitants
In February 2016, the second unit of 800-MW was add while the third unit of similar capacity started operating in October 2022
Smoke constantly billows from its cooling tower which spreads thin flakes of soot and ash over nearby villages. For lunch pupils there move outside on the front verandah where their food becomes a prey to fly-ash. Yet locals continue flocking into wayside eateries despite concerns for health risks.
Southwards as well as south-eastwards across Nelaturu though till Muthukuru mandal suffer from pollutant fall-outs like fine matter due to dumped iron ore and coal at Krishnapatnam, India’s second largest private port.
“Ten years this pollution problem has haunted us without finding any solution but we have presented it several times before our district collector,” B. Kanakaiah who is also Nelaturu panchayat’s sarpanch informs us.
The AP government had intended relocation plans near Madaraju Guduru for the settlement of its inhabitants which entails them moving about fifteen kilometers apart. Some houses were partially construct for residents but work on Harijanawada (Dalit colony) and Palem (fishermen hamlet) has reportedly stalled due to financial crisis.
More than two decades ago, when the government proposed Krishnapatnam port and thermal power stations, Nellore coastal region was view as a potential paradise. The national media turned its attention towards the perennially backward area while conglomerates scouted for business opportunities and real estate boomed around the city of Nellore that lies 30 kilometers away. However, the villagers have known nothing but soot, ash, dust and despair.
Life along this predominantly rural coastal belt has degenerated after twenty years. Lush green paddy fields, serine backwaters, vast coastlines, and barren lands have all turned brown from soot emitted by power plants, ash from treatment facilities as well as iron ore and coke loads at an all-weather deep water port.
The victims of these ravages are inhabitants of Gudur constituency’s Muthukur mandal; Sarvepalli constituency’s Venkatachalam; Chillakur as well as Thotapalli Gudur mandals in Gudur Constituency. “There is a growing number of patients complaining of breathing difficulty, throat irritation skin rash, and worsening asthma leading to more admissions into hospitals with these symptoms resembling air pollution related diseases,” says Alladi Mohan who is currently a Professor of Medicine & Dean at Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences Tirupati.
According to Dr. Mohan most of these patients come from SPSR Nellore district living near thermal power plants. He suspects that various health disorders may be cause by pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hci, pahs and particulate matter both coarse and fine in nature contained within the emissions.
The coastal vicinity of this belt was favored by the government also while taking into account it does not have continuous settlements and large unused areas.
While environmental degradation is expect to happen in such a case of having much industrialisation, local employment should compensate the negative effects. Nevertheless, the thermal power plants, port and Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for port based industries have failed to produce jobs, which were promise at the time of their acquisition. The few industrial units established are grossly insufficient for the thousands of acres acquire. Also, employment potential anticipated in 1990s has fallen well below expectations.
Port realignment
The recent news is that Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ), a subsidiary operating this port, has announced that it would be closing down its container business at Krishnapatnam due to dropping volumes.
For perspective, Navayuga Engineering Company Limited (NECL) had completed phase one construction of this port in an incredible record of eighteen months. Then on July 17th 2008 it was commission by Congress senior leader and former UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The new facility boasted modern mechanical cargo handling equipment capable of doing bulk cargo at 100000 million tonnes per day and handled cargo worth 5437 million tonnes during FY 2019-20.
Following AP government’s termination of Polavaram project and Machilipatnam Port Project contracts NGCL suffered setbacks. Moreover external factors led to sharp decline in iron ore exports forcing it to solely depend on coal as well palm oil as container business.
In 2021 Adani Ports & SEZ Limited took over all shares from NECL promoter company gaining absolute control over the same port. As Adani owns Kattupalli and Ennore ports near Chennai which are closest functional ports to Krishnapatnam; they are learnt to have decided to reorganize their bulk cargo and container businesses according to their business needs and demand supply mechanism.
As a result, the company reportedly started focusing more on bulk cargo like iron ore, coke, edible oil and fly ash which led to a situation whereby container business had to be shift to the remaining two ports. It is said that the last container vessel reached Krishnapatnam port on 26th January this year.
Efforts made to get in touch with port management for clarification were unsuccessful.
Livability vs livelihood debate
The said decision of the port has seen politically charged crossfire between YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP), now ruling party over past few years involving heated arguments on both livability and livelihood issues.
Krishnapatnam comes under Sarvepalli constituency. During 2019-2024 it was represented by YSRCP’s Kakani Govardhan Reddy as well as after general elections of 2024; it has been represented by TDP’s Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy.
Interestingly, each of them had served earlier as the agriculture minister giving out details regarding soil composition, crops grown thereon, water bodies around and also the local populace.
Prior to 2024 polls Chandramohan Reddy criticized that port management did not care about local interests just like his YSRCP regime did not take any such position.
On the other hand, Govardhan Reddy had defended his party-led government stating that contrary to allegations made against it that the Port would not move its container business.
After the change in government, Chandramohan Reddy has softened his position as TD representative and renewed his appeal to the management of Adani Ports and SEZ reconsidering its decision to move container operations to other ports.
“This will leave Krishnapatnam with fly ash, iron ore and coal, collectively known as dirty cargo. We don’t want Krishnapatnam to become a dumping yard. Once again I am appealing to the port management to bear in mind that the farmers had given away their precious lands for the development of this region,” adds Mr. Chandramohan Reddy.
Accordingly, Govardhan Reddy believes that absence of port based industries around Krishnapatnam port and SEZ has been the most critical reason for failure of import/export business to reach expected targets.
“Though they may have valid reasons for choosing nature of business or switching product lines between their array of ports, but it cannot ignore impacted livelihoods by exclusion of specific operations at our port,” he says.
Unfortunately, there are not many industrial units coming up; thus, hopes are dash on ground by families who gave away their lands. The bulk cargo handling is fully mechanized—iron ore being transported by railway wagons and edible oil by pipelines—hence minimal job creation. On contrary, container traffic supports different activities including importers, exporters, transporters, business agents freight handlers cold storages processing units making it a hive of activity.
“Already there aren’t as many industries around the port on the scale as initially envisioned. If it moves out too from here even then all these processing units will close down and also freight agents or even fuel stations along the road,” says Gogula Srinivasulu general secretary Centre Indian Trade Unions (CITU) for Krishnapatnam Industrial Cluster.
Another group hit hard silently is local fisherman who live along Krishnapatnam coast because thermal plant pollution and port dredging have to force them to drift as far as 15 km, where they were previously venturing 3-4 km out into the sea before the port came up. In spite of traveling further their catch remains the same thereby increasing fuel costs and burning a hole in their pockets. In other words, it is no longer worth fishing.
Similarly, rising pollution has been a rude shock for the sea salt harvesting units spread over approximately 700 acres for which these units had to come to an immediate halt. “About 3000 people who depend on salt making industry lost their livelihoods,” he says in regret.
In this bleak landscape the once-promised paradise still remains a distant dream. “Our battle against pollution and neglect is far from over but we are holding onto the hope that one day prosperity will knock on our doors,” says a resident of Nelaturu (38) who refused to be name.
