One of many

Tell me, do you know how many entrances are there to get into the Port of Chennai from the landward side? The one that most of Chennai's inhabitants would have seen is, in all probability, the gate near the War Memorial, just after Napier's Bridge. Those who have looked at that entrance closely would have noticed the sign saying "Gate No.10"; not having seen any other gate further south of Gate No. 10, they may very confidently say that the Port of Chennai has 10 entry points.

This one is Gate No.7. There is no obvious sign saying so, but we have always known this to be No.7. To get here, you will have to stay over the RBI Subway when you are northbound on Kamarajar Salai and then turn right to get this view. Your sharp eyes will see that this is actually a double entry - about a 100m beyond the gates, you will notice the boom barriers of a railway crossing. That's because the harbour line runs just inside these gates and it would spoil your day if you did not get across the rails in time. Once you get past both these, and then the security procedures, much of the Port is accessible to you. 

This gate is the one that is used by the public at large, for this is the way to get to the Port offices, the residential areas and the sailing / yachting / angling clubs that have their homes inside the port. The most busy gate for commercial and industrial traffic is however the the one that is at the northernmost end of the port, at Royapuram. Getting back to the initial question - you think there are 10? Ah, but the Royapuram gate is referred to as the Zero Gate, which means you can't be sure of the answer, even now!

Over at the City Daily Photo portal, it is Theme Day today. To see interpretations on the theme "Entry" from around the world, go to this site.