Dredging to begin after rain

The dredging work on the Puthiyappa harbour as part of its first-phase development will commence after the monsoon recedes.

Fisheries and harbour engineering officials said that some of the preliminary work on the site had been completed though the unfavourable weather had been posing a challenge.

Fisheries Minister K. Babu had inaugurated the work recently.

“We will be able to start the work at the earliest as there are no government-level formalities remain to be cleared, they add.

The work was interrupted due to difficulties in disposing of the dredged sediments in the turbulent sea. “The sea has been remaining turbulent since the beginning of the monsoon season and the process could be continued only if favourable weather prevailed,” harbour engineering officials said.

The dredging work, up to a depth of 3 m, is taken up to provide better anchoring facilities for fishing boats at the harbour. Currently, over 700 boats are operating through the Puthiyappa harbour, which has the capacity to accommodate 300 boats. During peak hours, big boats have to be anchored several metres away from the coastline. The fishermen and the boat owners have been demanding better anchoring facilities

“Since 1996, we have been witnessing a steady increase in the number of fishing boats at the Puthiyappa harbour. Also the new boats are of bigger size, which will worsen the current issue of limited space” said A.K. Saseendran, MLA. Mr. Saseendran, who had proposed a slew of projects for the harbour, added that the completion of dredging work on time was crucial for developing the area.

As per the project proposal, the government will spend Rs.12 crore for the completion of the dredging work. A newly released project report of the Fisheries department says that the harbours in the district will benefit from over Rs.25 crore for the completion of major development works.