Cuddalore was once a port town, the shipping trade has now moved to larger centres. Cuddalore also hosts the heavy chemical, pharmacological and energy industries in SIPCOT, an industrial estate set up by the state government. The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) planned to commence power plants around the town. The industrial development in Cuddalore's recent past has resulted in extreme pollution. SIPCOT, the central industrial area in the town is a "global toxic hotspot." Local communities have voiced concern about industrialization and pollution. The SIPCOT chemical industry estate in Cuddalore was investigated in November 2002 by a team from the Indian People's Tribunal headed by J. Kanakaraj. The group reported "a noticeable stench of chemicals in the air". The report published in July 2003 noted that "Villages like Kudikadu, Thaikal, Eachangadu and Sonnanchavadi lie in a virtual 'gas chamber' surrounded on three sides by chemical factories and bounded on the fourth by the river". There are reports of illegal dumping of toxic waste. On 22 March 2008, a report for the "Tamil Nadu Pollution Board" prepared by the Nagpur-based "National Environmental Engineering Research Institute" found that residents of the SIPCOT area of Cuddalore were at least 2000 times more likely than their counterparts to contract cancer in their lifetimes due to exposure to high levels of toxic gases from chemical industries in the region. The Cuddalore Port operates at the confluence of the Gadilam River and the Paravanar River. The ships anchor in midstream at about from the shore, where cargo is loaded and discharged through lighters. There is a bar at the mouth of the combined river, which maintains a depth of at low water. During July to September, the depth over the bar is reduced to about . Other ports under construction in Cuddalore are Thiruchopuram port, Silambimangalam port, Parangipettai port (Porto Nova) and PY-03 Oil Field (operational). Education and utility services There are a total of more than ten schools, including both matriculation and CBSE in Cuddalore. The town has four arts and science colleges, namely Periyar Government Arts College, Immaculate college for women, St. Joseph Arts & Science College and C. Kandasamy Naidu College for Women (KNC). There are two engineering colleges in the town: Krishnasamy Memorial Engineering College and CK College of Engineering and Technology. Krishnasamy Memorial Polytechnic and Padaleeswarar Polytechnic are the two polytechnic colleges in the