Ensuring a steady supply of ice to fishermen, vendors, boat owners, traders and exporters operating out of the Puducherry Fishing Harbour in Thengaithittu, a 40-tonne capacity ice plant was inaugurated at the harbour on Thursday by Chief Minister N. Rangasamy.
The new ice plant is an initiative under the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Coastal Disaster Risk Reduction Project (CDRRP) of the World Bank which is being carried out by the Project Implementation Agency (PIA) of the Puducherry Government. The project aims at increasing resilience of coastal communities to disasters, focusing on new initiatives in risk reduction and mitigation, and sustainability of fisheries resources, as a follow-up of reconstruction projects after the Indian Ocean Tsunami.
The ice plant, built in an area of 800 square metres, has a 54 tonne refrigeration capacity compressor and a 120 HP motor. The plant is equipped with Distributed Generation (DG) power and solar panels in the case of power failure.
It is expected to reduce dependence on smaller privately-run ice plants in Puducherry as well as serve landing areas like Vambakeerapalayam and Veerampattinam, said a release from the PIA.
Work is still ongoing to include an ice storage unit at the ice plant. Once all work is completed, it will be handed over the Department of Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare, said PIA Executive Engineer Mohan.
Boat making and repair yard
The Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone on Thursday for a number of modernisation programmes worth Rs 11 crore under the CDRRP. These include a modern mechanised slipway with winch rooms, boat making and repair yard and the extension of the existing quay of 330 metres by another 200 metres. This will provide sufficient landing and berthing facilities to an increased number of fishing boats, said the PIA.
The mechanised slipway will help in hauling and launching mechanised fishing boats with ease, solving the issue of a lack of proper hauling mechanism at the harbour, it said. The slipway will be connected to the boat making and repair yard, where six boats can be built and repaired simultaneously.
Under the CDRRP, the PIA has completed a 160 square metre net mending shed, a pre-processing unit and a 450 square metre marine mechanised workshop, which was handed over to the Department of Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare in July last year, said the press release.
