Officials inspect the fishing vessels anchored in river Zuari off Rachol village.
MARGAO
Officials of the Captain of Ports and Fisheries Department on Tuesday conducted an inspection of the fishing boats anchored in river Zuari off Rachol village.
After the inspection, the officials told Rachol Sarpanch Joseph Vaz that they would submit a detail report on the inspection to their departments.
Briefing the media, Sarpanch Vaz said the village panchayat of Rachol as well as the local residents have been objecting to the anchoring of the mechanised fishing boats off Rachol due to several reasons.
He said the presence of the fishing boats during the monsoons hamper the fishing activities of the traditional fishermen from Rachol. He said all the waste that gets stuck to the area where the boats are anchored later flows into the khazan fields, causing destruction.
That’s not all. The sarpanch said the villagers have to contend with the nuisance and anti-social activities resorted to by the crew members employed on the fishing boats. “These migrant labourers from the states of Jharkhand and Odisha defecate either from the fishing boats on the bundh, causing nuisance to the local farmers. Many of them move around the village in an inebriated condition, and indulging in anti-social activities,” he said.
Saying the panchayat had been complaining against the anchoring of fishing boats over the last five years, the sarpanch hoped the departments will initiate action and direct the boat owners to tow away the vessels from the river.
