Salcete lone Minister Aleixo Sequeria chairing a meeting of stakeholders on Cutbona as South district Collector Asvin Chandru looks on.
MARGAO
Salcete lone Minister Aleixo Sequeira is on a different mission in the last three days “ to clean up the Cutbona fishing jetty.
Since he accompanied Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to the Cutbona jetty after the outbreak of cholera claimed the lives of five workers, Sequeira is on the job to translate the Chief Minister’s directions into action.
“My task is to clean up the Cutbona fishing jetty to create a better environment for the labourers and to put in place basic amenities to tone up sanitation and hygiene”, Aleixo admits.
That he means business was evident by the fact that Alexio has held three back to back meetings post-CM’s visit, first with officials of various agencies, followed by meetings with the stakeholders how to go about the job.
Since his first meeting on Thursday, the Environment Minister has set in motion the process tow away the scrap vessels from the jetty and to clean up the dump on the new jetty. To ensure that the Fisheries department is in possession of the 35,000 square metres of land at the jetty, Aleixo has ordered a survey cum demarcation of the jetty land.
Officials of the fisheries have gone around the jetty to past notices on the unused vessels, while officials of the Captain of Ports has inspected the vessels over their sea worthiness.
To tone up the sanitation amenities, the Minister has got a proprietor of a private agency supplying portable toilets and the boat owners on the negotiating table to work on the rates for the upkeep and maintenance of the facility. “We have a long journey to go. New issues are coming up as we try to delve deep to resolve the Cutbona crisis. I am hopeful of a turnaround in the coming days”, Aleixo asserted.
