Industry and trade bodies here who have been blaming industrial backwardness of the district on poor road connectivity have expressed disappointment over inordinate delay in completion of the Thanjavur-Velankanni four-lane project.
The Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nagapattinam, and the Nagore-Nagapattinam Chamber of Commerce and Industries have been emphasising on early completion of the four-lane the 94-km stretch.
The response of the Revenue Department has all along been that that the project has been slowed due to problems related to land acquisition.
The back-breaking journey from Thanjavur to Nagapattinam has been a cause for reluctance of senior-level officials from banks and other leading government establishments to work in the coastal district, known as a bustling trade centre a few centuries back, traders say.
There is no worthwhile industry. The economy is mainly sustained by the fishing sector.
There has been no major initiative on the part of the government to bring about value-addition and generate employment through establishment of eco-system for fish-processing, Sundaravadivelan, president of Nagore-Nagapattinam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said.
The four-way road is deemed to be an absolute necessity as Nagapattinam district is a major pilgrim tourism centre.
Several thousands of pilgrims visiting Velankanni and Nagore use the road every day. Also, the road is the only way for movement of oil tankers and huge consignment of fish to Kerala, traders said.
A long-time vision has been lacking on the part of district administration for long. Otherwise, the district could have made some progress on the industrial front. A handful of welding workshops are all that remain in an otherwise desolate industrial estates, Mr. Sundaravadivelan said.
The grouse of the public and traders is that the full potential of the fishing sector itself could not be realised so far due to what they describe abysmal road connectivity.
There are difficulties in transporting fish to the market at the right time. Drivers of load vehicles are in constant fear of road accidents due to the presence of several blind curves along the stretch, fish traders complain.
According to official sources, the time overrun in a project of such a scale becomes inevitable since the land acquisition gets embroiled in legal wrangles.