Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh Mastan Rao Yadav has appealed to the Centre to develop an integrated multi-modal logistics corridor along the Buckingham Canal in SPSR Nellore district.

The Buckingham Canal measures 426 km in length, comprising the northern part between Pedaganjam and Chennai Central (316 km), and the southern part between Chennai Central and Marakkanam (110 km), which is part of the National Waterway-4 (NW-4).

Both stretches are tidal canals that remain dry during non-monsoon periods, and some stretches are prone to encroachment.

Mr. Yadav recently made a special mention in Parliament on the need to develop an integrated multi-modal logistics project along the canal. He said a pilot project, with a 60-metre canal corridor and a 30-metre road corridor between Krishnapatnam and Ramayapatnam ports, would considerably bring down logistics costs.

Such a project, he said, would reduce traffic congestion on the National Highways, support five to six industrial cities in the vicinity and create local employment.

Responding to the special mention, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal pointed to the hydrographic survey undertaken by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) on NW-4, of which the Buckingham Canal is a part, and asked Mr. Yadav to wait for its outcome.

He also pointed to the role of the State government in removing encroachments and restoring damaged structures.