The National Fisheries Development Board launched a solar-powered air-conditioned truck for transportation of fresh fish from the place of catch to the market place here on Monday.
On the sidelines of launching it, P. Paul Pandian, Executive Director, NFDB told The Hindu that the Rs.9.75-lakh project was fully funded by the Government of India under the “Solar-powered maxi truck for transportation of fresh fish’’ to the Association of Deep Sea Going Artisanal Fishermen (ADSGAF). The aim of the project was to minimise the cost of transportation of fresh fish.
The project, undertaken on pilot-scale trials, will boost tapping the natural energy and minimising the use of fossil fuel, eliminating carbon emission in the air.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr. Pandian said that the success of the pilot-scale demonstration would enable the fishermen to minimise their operational expenses considerably.
Based on the success of the programme, the facility would be expanded in other parts of the nation, he added.
Y.S. Yadava, Director of Bay of Bengal Programme – Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO), sponsored by the United Nations, is the chairperson of the project monitoring committee for the project.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr. Yadava told The Hindu that the BOBP-IGO is providing advisory support for the project.
As part of promoting green energy, the BOBP-IGO started the experiment on pilot basis during 2012. Due to this initiative, three mechanised fishing boats from Muttom were solar-powered for using VHF, lighting and other purposes, thus saving considerable quantity of diesel.
The facility would be expanded to another five boats soon, he said.
G.V.S. Pillai, Dean, University College of Engineering, Nagercoil, Ruben Jothi, Assistant Director, Fisheries Department, V. Romans, Secretary, and J. Vincent Jain, Chief Executive of ADSGAF, were present during the launch.