MARGAO
Day one of the new fishing season saw around 30-40 per cent of the fishing boats operating from the Cutbona jetty venturing out into the Arabian Sea on Tuesday, but the same old problems came to haunt the stakeholders once again.
A fleet of fishing vessels, including purse seine and fishing boats, ventured out in the sea early morning taking advantage of the high tide conditions, facilitating the vessels to safely navigate at the mouth of the river Sal at Betul before entering the sea.
The remaining vessels are expected to start the new season after the arrival of the migrant labourers.
Cutbona is home to around 350 fishing vessels. The majority of the vessels did not venture out on Tuesday due to a host of reasons, including the delay in the arrival of the migrant labourers and to start the fishing season around mid-August. A report.
Hostile navigation conditions
The hostile navigation issues plaguing the fishing vessels came back to haunt the boat owners on day one of the season.
Otherwise, consider this. A fleet of around 30-40 per cent of the boats operating from the Cutbona jetty ventured out in the sea on early Tuesday by taking advantage of the high tide condition. Like in the past, these boats found it difficult to return to the jetty with the fish catch for the simple reason that the low tide had already set in by evening. With the hostile navigation issues at the river Sal, the boats were left with no option but to either continue fishing in the sea or head to the Vasco fishing jetty or anchor close to the shore to unload the catch.
Former Cutbona boat owner union president Patrick D’Silva told The Goan that what was feared by the boat owners that the Sal mouth would play spoilsport to the fishing season has come true. “The fishing boats that had set sail in the morning could not return to the Cutbona jetty since it was a low tide. The boats will either head to Vasco to unload the catch or land at the Salcete shore,” he said.
He added: “We have been consistently demanding with successive governments for a breakwater facility at the river Sal mouth but in vain. Hope the hostile conditions open the eyes of the Fisheries officials and government.”
Sanitation imbroglio
Hundreds of migrant workers from Odisha and Jharkhand are believed to have descended at the Cutbona jetty to join the boats in the new fishing season. Sadly, the bio-toilets, which were installed at the Fisheries complex last season have been found under lock and key.
With the Sulabh International-manned lone toilet block unable to cater to the requirements of hundreds of migrant workers, it’s not uncommon to find the workers answering nature’s call in the adjoining fields and water bodies causing nuisance and health hazards to the locals.
Former Cutbona boat owners union president Cyprian Cardozo, who took a round of the fisheries complex on Tuesday, confirmed that not a single bio-toilet installed at the fisheries complex has been thrown open. “Like in the past, the lone Sulabh toilet block has come in handy for the migrant workers. We have no idea why the Fisheries department is delaying the opening of the bio-toilets,” Cyprian wondered.
Screening of migrant workers
The Cutbona jetty has been prone to vector-borne diseases such as dengue and malaria with thousands of workers hailing from the endemic states of Odisha and Jharkhand employed on the fishing vessels.
Given the bitter experience wherein dengue had even claimed the life of a local, many say the Health officials ought to play a proactive role in the screening of the migrant manpower descending at the Cutbona jetty ahead of the fishing season.
If sources are to be believed, the health team was conspicuous of its absence at the jetty on day one of the season. An official of the Fisheries department deployed at the jetty told The Goan that though the health team is drafted for screening, they were not found at the jetty on Tuesday.
