MARGAO
A country made fishing boat capsized at the mouth of river Sal at Betul on Tuesday morning, again bringing to the fore the contentious issue of the hostile navigation at the river mouth in the absence of a breakwater facility.
The two fishermen onboard the vessel were rescued and the fishing boat was towed to the Mobor beach by a group of fishermen.
The issue, however, brought back to the centre stage the dangers posed to fishermen at the river mouth.
The river mouth had in the past witnessed fishing boats breaking into two after running aground after being hit by strong waves.
Fishermen pointed out instances galore when the country-made boats and fishing vessels had to wait for hours together at the river mouth for conducive navigation conditions to facilitate them to venture out in the sea.
“To overcome these hostile navigation issues, the Goa government had initiated a breakwater project at the river mouth, but the project has not seen the light of day,” informed a fisherman.
The fisherman pointed out that the project is now hanging fire as the matter is pending before the National Green Tribunal (NGT). “The matter is pending before the NGT for the last couple of years. We had in the past requested the government to take up the issue before the Tribunal so that the facility materialises,” he said.
He added: “We do not know how many boats will capsize at the river mouth. The traditional fishermen having countrymade boats are the worst affected as the big mechanized vessels somehow manage to venture out in the sea.”
