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Sarma: Vizhinjam harbour will be completed in two years

Special Correspondent

Fishermen displaced for project to be rehabilitated

TAKING STOCK: Fisheries Minister S. Sarma at the fish landing centre in Vizhinjam on Tuesday to assess the progress of work on the fishing harbour. — Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

Thiruvananthapuram: Minister for Fisheries S. Sarma announced here on Tuesday that the Vizhinjam fishing harbour project would be commissioned in two years.

Addressing presspersons after a visit to the Vizhinjam coast to assess the progress of the project, he said the Government would chalk out an action plan to expedite work on the harbour.

"Though the Rs.15.5-crore project was started years ago, its benefit is yet to reach the fishermen, the intended beneficiaries. Ninety per cent of the work is complete. The rest involves dredging and the construction of a wharf," he said.

The Minister said the rehabilitation of fishermen displaced for the project would be carried out in collaboration with other agencies. The Government would hold discussions with local communities to sort out resettlement problems. A special project would be drawn up to relocate families and create hygienic conditions at the harbour. Trade unions, religious and social organisations and political parties would be consulted on the relocation scheme.

Mr. Sarma who visited the areas near the harbour said efforts would be made to clear the choked canal. He added that the fishing villages in Vizhinjam would be brought under the Theerasamridhi scheme to supply drinking water to the residents of the coastal areas. "An amount of Rs.45 lakhs has been sanctioned for the scheme. Additional funds will be released if the need arises," he said.

Asked about the move to shift the marine aquarium under the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) at Vizhinjam, the Minister said the Central Government had been apprised about the need to retain the unit here.

"The Government is of the opinion that the aquarium is an asset to the State. Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan has been in the forefront of the campaign to retain the unit here, right from the time when he was the Leader of the Opposition. It was also one of the major issues highlighted by the Cabinet delegation from Kerala during discussions with the Prime Minister," Mr. Sarma said.

Earlier, the Minister visited the project site, the breakwater and the landing harbour. He listened to complaints raised by fishermen about the crammed conditions at the landing harbour caused by the arrival of boats from other coasts.

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