OdishaPlus Bureau
The government on Wednesday gave the approval to rename Kolkata Port as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port. Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing the 150th anniversary program of Kolkata Port Trust in January had announced rechristening it after Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
“The Board of Trustees of Kolkata Port Trust in its meeting held on February 25, 2020, passed a resolution to rename Kolkata Port as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata considering his multifaceted genius as an eminent jurist, academician, thinker, and leader of the masses,” Ministry of Shipping said in a release.
The Kolkata Port is the first major port as well as the only riverine port of the country. It came to be governed by a Trust on October 17, 1870, on the appointment of the Commissioners for Improvement of the Port of Calcutta as per Act V of 1870.
“Kolkata Port has traversed 150 years and in this journey, it has been India’s gateway to trade, commerce, and economic development. It has also been a witness to India’s struggle for independence, World Wars I & II, and socio-cultural changes taking place in the country, especially in Eastern India,” the release said.
Generally, major ports in India are named after the city or the town in which they are situated. Some ports, however, in special cases or in due consideration of contribution made by eminent leaders have been renamed after great national leaders in the past.
“Nhava Sheva Port Trust was renamed as Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust by the Government in the year 1989. The Tuticorin Port Trust was renamed as V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust in the year 2011 and the Ennore Port Limited has been re-named as Kamarajar Port Limited in the honor of Shri K Kamarajar, eminent freedom fighter and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,” the statement said.
In 2017 Kandla Port was renamed as Deendayal Port. PM Modi in January had said: “I announce that the Kolkata Port Trust will now be known as Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port. He was the father of industrialization in India, a man who made sacrifices for one nation and one Constitution.”
