MARGAO
Things are falling in place at the dengue and cholera-hit Cutbona fishing jetty according to Salcete's lone Minister Aleixo Sequeira, who visited the jetty on Monday.
Sequeira along with Additional Collectors, Srinet Kothwale and Uday Prabhudesai, Deputy Collector Ganesh Barve, Salcete Mamladar Prataprao Gaonkar and other officials descended at the Cutbona jetty to take a review of the situation. This was Sequeira’s second visit to the fishing jetty and it comes after the visit by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant there on September 11 after cholera claimed the lives of five workers at the Cutbona jetty and the Mobor fish landing centre.
The Environment Minister said all the 46 vessels, including old and scrap vessels anchored at the 222-metre-long jetty have been towed away. Similarly, he said just a dinghy or two are still lying at the jetty, exuding confidence that they will be removed in a day or two.
“The area near the shed of the old jetty has received a fresh coat of asphalt. The illumination at the jetty has also been repaired,” he said.
The Minister further pointed out that the process of laying a new water supply line will soon be completed, adding that the jetty will receive a dedicated water supply from the PWD department. Till now, the water was supplied to the Cutbona jetty by tankers.
“I am not saying that everything has been put in place at the Cutbona fishing jetty. Things, however, are falling into place step by step. I am happy that many things have been resolved since the Chief Minister visited the jetty around 20 days back,” he said.
Sequeira, however, politely declined to intervene in the internal issues between the owners of the big fishing vessels and the fishermen over the use of the jetty. “How to use the jetty, both new and old, should be decided by the boat owners,” he said.
On the concern raised by the boat owners over the use of the 222-metre new jetty built at a cost of Rs 11 crore in 2019 but cannot bear the load of six-wheel vehicles, Sequeira said the Chief Minister is seized of the matter and may appoint a consultant to decide how best to put the jetty to use after studying the load bearing issue.
Workers await long-delayed toilet facility amid rising costs
How many months will it take for the Fisheries Department to set up the 50-seater toilet block at the Cutbona fishing jetty for the benefit of the thousands of workers employed on the fishing vessels?
This question did the rounds at the Cutbona fishing jetty on Monday during the visit of Environment Minister Aleixo Sequeira who reviewed the measures implemented at the jetty.
The Cutbona Boat Owners Federation is spending Rs 10 lakh a month towards the mobile toilets, bath cubicles and urinals at the fishing jetty and their upkeep and maintenance, only throwing up a question of when the Fisheries Department’s 50-seater toilet block will take shape at the jetty or whether the boat owners are destined to pay Rs 10 lakh every month towards the sanitation expenses.
When 'The Goan' questioned the Environment Minister on the status of the toilet block at the jetty, he said the process had been set in motion by the Fisheries Department. “I would take a review with the Fisheries Director when I have a meeting with her this week. But, I have been told that the Fisheries Director has set in motion the process to set up the long-delayed toilet block at Cutbona jetty,” Sequeira said.
