The end is in sight for Vasco fishermen’s decade oldstruggle to have a permanent jetty of their own, as Goa Fishing Boat OwnersAssociation and Goa government have agreed to relocate the Kharewaddo Jetty. Ina major breakthrough, GPBOA has not only agreed to shift the jetty from itscurrent site near MPT’s Berth Nos. 10 and 11 but also agreed to a dedicatednavigation channel of its own.
In a tripartite meeting held under the aegis of SecretaryFisheries Y.P. Rao at the Secretariat last week, GFBOA and MPT officials triedto break common ground in a bid to arrive at a permanent solution to find Vascofisherman’s own jetty.
“We have agreed to shift towards the Hindu crematorium sideon condition that the requisite infrastructure including an all-weather jetty,a slipway and warehouses etc are built in the line of the current jetty,”informs GFBOA President Simon Pereira. Simon’s words assume significance as hewas the face of Kharewaddo fishermen’s resistance to shifting from the currentsite.
Sources at the fisheries department confirmed that MPT,which wants to clear up the Kharewaddo waterfront and develop half a dozen oddberths, was still at odds with the proposal. “We have not agreed on the Hinducrematorium site for various reasons” informs MPT Chief Engineer JosephSilviera.
“We have issues pertaining to the ISPS code since 2002 asboth the port and fishing jetty exist in close proximity. Trawlers repeatedlycriss-cross the port navigation channel,” he added.
The International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS)code is a set of measures to enhance thesecurity of ships and port facilities.
The governmenthowever is in favour of the shifting of the jetty as desired by fishermen. Inthe meeting last week, the fisheries secretary is said to have told MPT toclimb down from its rigid stand and create and alternative for the fishermenwithin the ambit of ISPS code.
It may be recalled that Kharewaddo fishermen had thrownbottles at a foreign vessel berthed at Kharewaddo some time ago. The complaintby the vessel is said to have brought the urgency for ISPS enforcement on thePort.
Sources reveal that Rao had suggested employing floatingbuoys to demarcate areas, so that fishermen would ensure they kept off fromareas meant for port operations.
For the Kharewaddo fishermen, the wait for converting theMemorandum of Understanding between MPT, Goa Fishing Boat Owners Associationand government of Goa with an assurance of building a fishing jetty alongKharewaddo shore has been just a piece of paper for the past two decades.
“We have fought against all odds in last two decades and nowour fight is in the court of law,” Pereira said. “We had never thought ofapproaching a court earlier but when we realized that the poor fishermen havebeen fooled time and again, we had no option but drag MPT and the government tothe High Court,” said Pereira.
However, if the new jetty comes up, the Kharewaddo shore,particularly notorious for its scrap and oil smuggling operations will be underintense scrutiny of the security forces.
Issues like the proximity of the new jetty to the Goa Navalarea headquarters and absence of a good access road may still obstruct the newjetty location but for the moment, the initiative has seen a major attitudinalshift in the fisherman’s traditional resistance to move away from the currentKharewaddo jetty.
