The visionary who foresaw the huge potential of the strategic location of the Vizhinjam Port in the international maritime trade map with its deep draft that puts it in direct competition with some of the ports in south Asia, turns 100 on Friday even as Kerala’s anxious wait for the dream project of the Vizhinjam international seaport still continues.
G.G. Menon, an engineer who retired from the Kerala Public Works department (PWD), was part of the team of engineers who started the survey for developing Vizhinjam into a major seaport as per the orders of Diwan Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer during the reign of the erstwhile Travancore dynasty. Being a natural all-weather seaport for many decades, Sir C.P. perceived the possibility of a commercial seaport at Vizhinjam, remembers Mr. Menon. He had even plans to link Vellayani Lake to the port with a channel, says Mr. Menon.
Amid the centenary fete celebrations, he remembers the arduous task he undertook in the mid-40s. It was a tough time, going to sea in small catamarans and doing surveys with the help of imported instruments. The government brought an engineer from England-based Harbour Engineering Company to stay at Vizhinjam for two months to do the survey. The land layout, water availability and so on were inspected. The team sailed in small boats to survey the depth and tide variations up to one nautical mile.
The rock formation on the land was measured using various instruments. The engineers prepared a report of the same and sent it through the Chief Engineer to the British company, which then designed a sketch, and the final report was submitted to the government. Unfortunately, due to some conflict of interest, the government dropped the plan, and the officers in the Harbour Division were relocated to other departments, says Mr. Menon.
He later worked with various engineering departments and projects such as the Pallivasal Hydro Electric project for the Sengulam Dam and the Mattupetty Dam, and also served as a Mechanical Supervisor in the Agricultural department and the PWD Central Circle.
Mr. Menon was then promoted to Indo Norwegian Project as Pipe Factory Engineer and later as Quantity Supervisor in Trivandrum Architecture and Town Planning Division and later retired from service as Executive Engineer of the Water Regulation Division, Palakkad.
After completing engineering with a First Class, he joined Travancore State PWD in 1946. The same year, he joined Vizhinjam Harbour Special Section, which was then under the Trivandrum Aerodrome division.
The College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram, honoured him with an Award of Excellence in 2014 for his inspiring journey in the field of engineering. He presently leads a retired life in Thiruvananthapuram.
