THEGOAN NETWORK
MARGAO: Call it abdicating responsibility or simply passing the buck, theFisheries department has requested the fisheries societies and association toprovide toilet facilities at the Cutbona fishing jetty for the thousands ofcrew employed on the fishing vessels.
The fisheries societies, however, havequestioned the rationale behind the Fisheries department’s decision when thejetty is owned and operated by the Directorate of Fisheries.
In fact, the chairman of the CutbonaFisheries Society, Vinay Tari questioned the Fisheries Director’s letter to thesocieties on providing toilet facilities at the jetty when the Fisheriesdepartment is the sole owner of the Cutbona fishing jetty.
That’s not all. Tari also demanded toknow whether the Fisheries department will maintain the mobile toilets on a dayto day basis if the facility is made available at the jetty.
“When the Fisheries department has takenover the Cutbona fishing jetty, is it not the responsibility of the departmentto take care of sanitation facilities at the premises?” he asked.
In the letter to the various fisheriessocieties operating at the Cutbona fishing jetty, Fisheries Director Dr ShamilaMonteiro mentioned the same old proposal of constructing 50-seat toilet blockat the Cutbona jetty, a proposal which is awaiting execution for over half a decadenow.
The Fisheries Director has furtherstated that the department has moved various authorities to obtain NOC for thetoilet block and the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) at the jetty, but has noanswer why the department could not obtain the NOC for the last five years.
Incidentally, the Director has broughtto the notice of the Fisheries societies that inspite of providing a Sulabhtoilet, the crew does not avail the toilet facility and hence has requested thefishermen to direct all the boat owners to instruct their crew to use theSulabh facility and the bio-toilets installed at the complex and stop opendefecation.
The proposal requesting the installationof mobile toilets at the Cutbona fishing jetty was apparently made by theFisheries director on the premise that the existing Sulabh and eco-toiletfacility may not be adequate for vessels with more than 30 crew members.
Meanwhile, in an interestingdevelopment, deputy Director of Fisheries, Chandrakant Velip in a letter tolocal NGOs, Velim Civic and Consumer Forum has pointed out that work on theconstruction of the 50-seater toilet block and the STP could not be executed asthe Primary Health Centre, Balli, Goa State Pollution Control Board, Town andCountry Planning department and the Velim Village Panchayat has not issued NOCsfor the work.
Velip further informed the NGOs that theFisheries department has already written to the authorities, including theBalli PHC, GSPCB and the TCP for the issue of NOC for the sewage treatmentplant and the 50-seater Sulabh toilet, adding that the work will be undertakenafter obtaining the required NOC from the concerned departments and theapproval of the government and finance department.
