VIKRAM NAYAK
VASCO
To do or not to do, this is the awkward dilemma confronting several hundreds of labourers engaged on fishing boats at Kharewaddo Jetty when they seek to answer nature’s call.
Labours engaged on fishing boats have been forced to defecate in the open as the fishing jetty does not have toilets, but this exercise has become increasingly difficult with Vasco Police intensifying its drive against open defecation.
Several labourers have been picked up by police on charge of open defecation during the intensified drives, compelling some boat owners to urge the Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC)
and the government to provide mobile bio-toilets at
the Jetty as Kharewaddo
fishing jetty does not have toilets.
According to sources, about 20-30 labourers are engaged on a big fishing boat, while around 10 labourers are engaged on a small fishing boat. With about 200 small and big boats in the jetty, it is estimated that there are around 2,000 labourers associated with the Kharewaddo fishing jetty.
“With police picking up labourers, many of them have fled from Kharewaddo and boat owners face difficulties in running their fishing activity, as they are dependent on these labourers, mostly hailing from Orissa and other states,” said a source.
Despite existing for several years, the Kharewaddo Fishing Jetty is without toilet facilities till date and labourers are forced to answer nature’s call in the open.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, former minister and boat owner Jose Philip D’Souza estimated 2,000 labourers to be engaged on fishing boats at the jetty.
“The jetty does not have toilets and labourers are forced to answer nature’s call in the open. I am not saying they are right and we need to maintain cleanliness, but the government, MMC or authorities need to provide toilet facilities to them at the jetty,” said D’Souza.
“The police has been picking up labourers who have no option but to defecate in the open. We have to search for them and finally find them in the police station. There are formalities to be made before they are released and our boats are held up till then,” added D’Souza.
“Recently, a minister announced that about 70,000 bio-toilets are to be distributed. Why can’t the government and MMC place some bio-toilets at this fishing jetty, which caters to about 2,000 labourers, who are also human beings,” questioned D’Souza.
