Abhayachandra Jain, Minister of State for Fisheries, Sports and Youth Services, said on Monday that the government would consider the demand of fishermen’s organisations for a preliminary study for the construction of fourth stage of the Malpe Fisheries Harbour here.
Addressing presspersons here after holding a review meeting, he said that the construction of the third stage of the fisheries harbour was almost complete except for the slipway to the repair yard. This construction too was expected to be completed soon. In spite of the construction of the third stage, there was not enough space to berth fishing boats.
The fourth stage of the harbour would basically be an “L” shape breakwater jetty. This would help the berthing of fishing boats during the monsoon. Since Malpe was one of the biggest fishing harbours in the State, a large number of boats anchored here. The construction of the main fish market in Udupi would be completed shortly. The construction of the one-floor building at a cost of Rs. 2 crore was nearing completion. The delay in the construction was because the seating arrangements for fisherwomen had been increased from 76 to 173.
This had been done without altering the basic structure. An additional amount of Rs. 30 lakh for construction of a compound wall and installation of inter-lock tiles for parking facility of vehicles would be allocated from MPLADS funds. The proposal for a Deputy Director of Fisheries Office in Udupi made by the representatives of various fishermen’s organisations would be considered.
The construction work on the second stage of Madikal fisheries harbour in the district had already begun. The construction of fisheries harbour at Kodibengre, Maravanthe which were in various stages and the extension works of Gangolli harbour would be expedited.
The construction work of fisheries harbours and jetties normally took a lot of time to take off because they had to get environmental clearances and also clearance from experts at the Central Water and Power Research Station in Pune, Mr. Jain said.
Pramod Madhwaraj, MLA, T. Hiriyanna, Chairman of State Fisheries Development Corporation, Veerappa Gowda, Director of Fisheries, were present.
