MARGAO
Yet another fishing season is nearing the end on May 31 before the fishing ban comes into force on June 1, but mechanized fishing boat owners say the issues plaguing the fishing activities and the Cutbona fishing jetty – South Goa’s fishing hub, are far from over.
Consider this. The jetty road is in bad shape and is craving urgent attention. Boat owners fear that the condition of the road is so bad that it may turn unmotorable when the fishing activity resumes on August 1 if the road does not get a hot mix carpet on priority.
That’s not all. Boat owners pointed out that the government of the day has failed to ensure a safe navigation channel at the mouth of river Sal, hampering the smooth movement of fishing boats.
It’s now a couple of years since work on the extended jetty stands completed, but the jetty is still not inaugurated. Boat owners pointed out that the extended jetty now plays host to abandoned vessels and vessels which have sunk in the river.
In the last season, the Fisheries Department had issued a notice to the boat owners to tow away the abandoned vessels at the jetty, even threatening punitive action, but the ground reality remains unchanged.
Sanitation issues again came to haunt the boat owners throughout the season, with the 50 seater toilet block yet to take shape. However, in what may ring good news for the stakeholders, the process of installing toilets has begun at the jetty. While the lone Sulabh toilet block was found grossly inadequate to meet the sanitation requirements of the 4000-migrant workforce employed on the fishing vessels operating from Cutbona, the Fisheries Department has now set up around 10-12 toilets in the fisheries complex.
President of Cutbona Boat Owners Union, Frank Martins lamented that the Fisheries Department has neglected the maintenance of the Cutbona jetty.
“Look at the state of the jetty road and the craters dotting the road. The overall maintenance is sadly missing at the jetty”, he said.
Martins lamented that the Fisheries Department has failed to put in place a permanent mechanism at the mouth of river Sal.
“Small fishing boats, as well as the purse seine boats, are often stranded near the river mouth given the hostile navigation conditions. Dredging of the river mouth has failed to meet our requirements”, he said.
Velim sarpanch & boat owner Savio D’Silva echoed similar sentiments. He said the traditional fishermen operating with small boats cannot venture out into the sea when the fishing season starts on August 1. Savio has also called for government intervention to bail out the fishing industry saying the skyrocketing fuel prices have hit the industry badly.
Fisheries director refutes allegations
of failure to maintain Cutbona jetty
MARGAO:
Fisheries Director Shamila Monteiro has said the department has installed the additional toilets at the Cutbona fisheries complex to tone up sanitation at the jetty.
She further said the department is seized of the bad condition of the Cutbona jetty road, adding that a proposal was mooted to hot mix the road.
The Fisheries Director said the department has installed 12 toilets at the Cutbona jetty. She, however, pointed out that the department will pursue the long-pending proposal mooted over half a decade ago for the construction of the 50-seater toilet block at the jetty.
As far as the abandoned and scrap vessels lying at the jetty, the Fisheries director conceded that the department’s move to get the owners to tow away the vessels did not bear fruit. She, however, said the department has decided to issue another notice to the vessel owners to tow away the vessels or face action.
She did not agree with the allegations that the Fisheries Department has failed to maintain the Cutbona jetty, saying it has deployed labourers to look after the maintenance.
