MARGAO
In a bid to resolve the illumination issues faced by the fishermen operating at Betul and Cutbona, officials of the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) on Wednesday assured members of the local fishing community that they will not do anything that would disturb the fishing activities of the local fishermen, including boat owners.
A meeting of the ONGC officials led by Arun Kumar, Fisheries officials and boat owners at the Coastal Security police station, Betul was held to discuss the points raised by the fishermen, including the Cutbona Boat Owners Federation over the navigational difficulties faced by the fishing boat owners due to illumination at the River Sal mouth.
Secretary of the Cutbona Boat Owners Federation Patrick Silva told The Goan that they had a fruitful discussion over the issue, saying that ONGC has agreed to remove all the lights.
He further said that a joint inspection will be conducted of the site along with officials of the Fisheries, Coastal Police, and fishing stakeholders after the ONGC removes the lights from their area.
ONGC officials maintained that the construction lights have been removed in view of the request received from the Cutbona Boat Owners Federation. “Only the basic lights for illuminating the floating jetty pontoon marooned on the adjacent rocky shore due to the recent severe cyclonic weather conditions have been retained for safety reasons during ongoing salvage works,” ONGC wrote to the federation.
Federation Secretary Patrick Silva, however, insisted that the ONGC have not removed all the lights installed at the area. It was finally decided that ONGC will remove the lights followed by a joint inspection of the area.
