THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The under construction multi-crore Vizhinjam Port project had some special visitors the other day; members of ‘Aparajitha,’ a collective of girls aged between eight and 13. They walked along the pathway extending seaward for 200 metres on the land reclaimed for the project, and were thrilled by the sight of the dredgers and the jack-up barrages.
The site visit was facilitated by the CSR team of Adani Group, the concessionaire of the project. G N Balakrishnan, mechanical engineer with the group, explained the project to the children. They also visited the marine aquarium at Vizhinjam where they were led through mysteries of the deep by marine biologist Aneesha Ani. The 30-member group consisted of inmates of Hindu Mahila Mandiram, Poojappura. ‘Aparajitha’ is headed by poet Rosemary.
The collective offers young girls an opportunity to come together and share ideas. The group meets on the second Saturdays of every month for study tours, film screenings, interactions with eminent personalities, classes in elocution, handicraft and poetry and book reading sessions.
The state government inked the concession agreement on the Vizhinjam project with the Adani Group on August 17, 2015. Construction was inaugurated on December 5, 2015. Once the phase I work is over, commercial operations are expected to begin at the port on December 4, 2019.