The Kasimedu fishing harbour will be renovated at a cost of Rs.75 crore. The move, said Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in the Assembly on Friday, was to cope with the challenges faced by fishermen in handling fish in a hygienic manner.
She said work on the Rs.16.24-crore proposal made in 2011 by the AIADMK government was underway.
The trawler wharf, which can berth nearly 575 mechanised boats, was damaged after the tsunami. Following this, motor vehicles are not allowed on the wharf.
The earlier plan included strengthening of a 500-metre wharf to ensure safety of fishermen. The auction hall, which was in dire need of repairs, has also been demolished and is being rebuilt. Of the daily sales amounting to 200 tonnes, nearly 30 per cent is sent to other States such as Karnataka and Kerala and the remaining is supplied to local markets. The fisheries department will construct a platform using the process of block wall reclamation, where a wall would be constructed, the sea water pumped out and the space filled up.
