Four harbours in the district will be given a facelift with finance from the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) allocated by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
As part of the ₹54.56 crore project, harbours at Neendakara, Saktikulangara, Thangassery and Azheekkal will be renovated. NABARD has sanctioned ₹32.7 crore for Saktikulangara harbour, while ₹9.5 crore will be spent on reconstructing the buildings at Neendakara harbour. A sum of ₹7.4 crore has been set aside for constructing and extending docking facilities at Azheekkal and ₹4.8 crore will be spent on Thangassery harbour.
The wharf and auction hall at Neendakara will be modernised and geobags will be placed there in order to prevent sedimentation in the harbour.
A new toilet block, approach road, well, overhead water tank, shopping complex and CCTV surveillance will also come up in the harbour. Apart from dredging, Saktikulangara harbour will get a string of new facilities including finger jetty, net mending shed, kiosk, entrance gate and gate house. A compound wall around the harbour will be constructed while parking area and auction hall will be renovated.
An auction hall and 100-meter wharf will be built in Azheekkal harbour to expand landing facilities. The construction of the wharf will be done in such a way as to ensure the safety of fishers and hassle-free fishing. Thangassery harbour will have a modern auction hall, separate building for shops and net mending shed. The entire construction activities will be in accordance with the historical relevance and heritage value of Thangassery.
Ice plant and treatment plant are also included in the project and the harbours are expected to receive ISO certification with the completion of works.
“Maximising export possibilities and increasing market value of various products through branding are other objectives. The renovation works will help in strengthening the marketing network by bringing all the harbours in the district under a single cluster and providing extra cold storage facilities,” said Fisheries Minister J.Mercykutty Amma.
