Adani Ports: The Tamil Nadu villagers taking on a billionaire's port plan - BBC News

Locals in 100 villages of Tamil Nadu state are fighting the expansion of a port owned by Gautam Adani.

12 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, K SaravananImage caption, Protesters wearing masks which say, 'We don't need an Adani Port', sit in a village market in Tamil NaduBy K SubagunamBBC Tamil, ChennaiThousands of villagers in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu are fighting a proposal to expand a port owned by billionaire Gautam Adani, one of the world's richest men.

The villagers, most of whom make a living through fishing, say the port expansion in Kattupalli - a small village located in Tiruvallur district along the Bay of Bengal coast - would submerge their lands and wreak havoc on their livelihoods. Adani Ports denies this.

The 330-acre multi-purpose port - originally built by Indian conglomerate Larson & Toubro (L&T) - was acquired by Adani Ports in 2018.

The company later proposed to expand it more than 18-fold to an area of 6,110 acres by claiming portions of land along the coast.

According to the company's master plan, the expansion would increase the port's cargo capacity from 24.6 metric tonnes to 320 metric tonnes per year and develop new rail and road networks that would boost trade connectivity in the region.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-67942639?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

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