The House Committee on Welfare of Fish Workers and Workers of Allied Sectors has stressed that steps will be taken to redress the constraints being faced by fishermen at harbours in the district.
House panel chairman C. Krishnan, MLA; member K. Dasan, MLA; and officials visited the fishing harbours at Azhikkal, Ayikkara, and Thalayi following the panel’s sitting here on Thursday.
The visit followed complaints about the limitations of the harbours raised at the sitting by the representatives of fishermen’s organisations.
At the sitting held at the Collectorate conference hall here, Harbour Engineering Division officials informed the panel that solar lights would be installed at the breakwater at Azhikkal and that toilets at the Azhikkal fishing harbour would be opened to fish workers in a month.
The committee members also saw the decrepit wharf at Azhikkal.
The officials informed the panel that a proposal for renovating the wharf has been submitted to the government.
Fishermen at Azhikkal brought to the notice of the panel the space constraints of the harbour.
The HED officials also informed the committee that the barge for dredging the Mappila Bay fishing harbour at Ayikkara would reach in a week.
They also informed the panel that a new study would be conducted on constructing the proposed new breakwater at Mappila Bay. The committee directed the officials to consult with veteran fishermen in the area before finalising the design of the breakwater.
Reduce plastic use
At the sitting, Mr. Krishnan said that the Coastal Regulation Zone rules concerning distance to the land area from the coast should be strictly complied with for new constructions.
New constructions should be permitted with due considerations to the environmental issues in the backdrop of tsunami and the disaster caused by Cyclone Ockhi, he said.
He also called for reducing the use of plastic as plastic waste reaching the sea was adversely affecting fishing activities and fishery reproduction.
Coastal road
Mr. Krishnan also said that the 600-km-long coastal road being constructed in the State would be beneficial for transportation of fisheries products and the tourism sector.
Adequate compensation would be given for acquiring land for the road, he said, adding that the project would be completed in three years.
Additional District Magistrate E. Muhammad Yusaf, Fish Workers’ Welfare Board chairman C.P. Kunhiraman, Matsyafed governing board member P.A. Reghunathan, and Fisheries Deputy Director M. Sreekantan were among those present at the sitting.
