Fishermen of Kodiyampalayam fishing village in Kollidam taluk will shortly be provided with a land-side facility at an expenditure of ₹ 2.85 crore.
Accompanied by senior officials of police, revenue, forest and other departments, Collector R. Lalitha inspected the village where the fish-landing centre was sanctioned by the Minister for Fisheries in the Assembly during the 2020-21 budget session.
The NABARD-funded project, for which an administrative sanction was issued by the Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Department during October, 2020, encompasses a 45 metre quay with precast blocks, an auction hall, net-mending shed, approach road, and electrification and water supply arrangement.
The infrastructure will cater to the requirements of fishers operating 21 motorised, non-mechanised boats and one mechanised boat.
The fishermen have been experiencing intense suffering due to the dearth of facilities for selling the fish catches.
The project would uplift socio-economic condition of the fishermen through facilitating marketing of the fisheries resources under hygienic conditions, utilising the infrastructure, Ms. Lalitha said.
The Collector said on the occasion that the mangrove forests would be developed with the support of the public and service-minded entities.
The Tourism department had already sounded about the potential for making the mangrove forests in the area a major attraction for sight-seeing.
The department had also sounded positive about the possibility for operating boat services between Kodiyampalayam and Pitchavaram in Cuddalore district, which is famed for its mangrove forests, by identifying ideal water lanes in the contiguous stretch of backwaters.
