Karnataka   

Fishermen oppose Karwar port expansion

Karwar: Fishermen, under the banner of Harikantra-Kharvi Fisheries Cooperative Society, took out a protest march here on Saturday. They were protesting against the beautification of Karwar beach, second phase expansion of the Karwar port and the proposed thermal project at Hanakon near Karwar.

They submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner urging him to take steps to stop the projects, which, they said, were hampering fishing activities on Karwar beach. In the memorandum they said the expansion of the Karwar port would affect traditional fishing in the area. Also, most of the fertile fishing grounds were already taken over by the Sea Bird project, the memorandum said.

The memorandum pointed out that presently the beach in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office was used by fishermen to keep boats and nets during the rainy season. If these areas were developed for tourism then the fishermen would have problems. They urged the Deputy Commissioner to use the Rs. 5-crore fund granted for development of the beach for some other project. It also urged the Government to put up sheds to keep the boats and nets on the beach during the rainy season.

The memorandum also said that two years ago fishing activities had been banned for an indefinite period after a shipping accident near Karwar. The Government had assured the fishermen of compensation for this period. They alleged that the shipping company had already paid Rs. 26 lakh out of the assured amount of Rs. 56 lakh. The memorandum urged the district administration to distribute this amount among the eligible fishermen.

The community has threatened to launch a people’s agitation if the Government fails to fulfil their demands.

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