NAGAPATTINAM: A consignment of 44,000 metric tonnes of urea from Malaysia that arrived at Karaikal Port earlier last week is being readied for transportation to various parts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and address the fertiliser shortage in the regions.
After a delay from challenging weather conditions, the Marshall Islands-bulk carrier ‘Star Centaures’ arrived with the urea consignment at Karaikal Port on November 28. Coromandel International Limited imported the urea from Malaysia.
The cargo was unloaded from the vessel and made available for claims on Saturday. Of the 44,000 metric tonnes, Tamil Nadu has claimed a share of 27,140 metric tonnes. Agriculture department officials in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry said they will receive the fertiliser in small quantities over the next one month and added that it would address the shortage in the regions.
Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai are claiming around 6,000 metric tonnes each and Karaikal, around 300 tonnes.J Akhandarao, the joint director of the agriculture department in Nagapattinam, said, “We have about 1,573 metric tonnes of urea in stock in societies and private dealers. The fertiliser consignment that arrived would more than suffice and be of help to our farmers who are into samba and thaladi cultivation this month.”
A team of officials led by Nagapattinam Collector A Arun Thamburaj also visited the port on Saturday and inspected the stored urea.J Senthilkumar, the additional director of the agriculture department in Karaikal, said, “We will also receive around 150 metric tonnes of urea from other sources to fulfil the total requirement of 450 metric tonnes for samba season in Karaikal. The seasonal requirement is hence sorted out completely.”
The consignment would then be shipped within Karaikal and to Nagapattinam via trucks, while Mayiladuthurai’s share would be sent via freight rakes.