MARGAO
A resident of Sernabatim-Colva, Calvert Gonsalves on Thursday filed a complaint with the office of the South Goa Superintendent of Police, Sunita Sawant claiming that the deaths due to dengue and other diseases is due to the alleged criminal negligence of the Fisheries Directorate and the owners of non-seaworthy/non-functional fishing boats docked at the new Cutbona fishing jetty.
Calvert has asked the district police chief to take serious note of the major outbreak of dengue clubbed with another unknown epidemic that has hit only at Cutbona jetty in South Goa. “The most affected persons are migrant labourers who are crew on fishing boats. Upon contracting dengue (with fever) this time, it also leads to diarrhea which is clubbed together and then leads to kidney failure and death,” he said.
Blaming the Fisheries Department for the outbreak of the dengue and diarrhea cases, Calvert said the Fisheries officials have only watched these non-sea-worthy /non-functional fishing boats to aimlessly lie docked at this new Cutbona jetty. “Although Fisheries Director has served notices to the owners of these idling/anchored/non-seaworthy fishing boats (for the last five-plus years), she has made no attempts to have them removed from the jetty,” he added.
