Cutbona boat owners and their labourers are getting ready for what they hope will be a fruitful season. They are presently arranging their nets and carrying out the last minute repairs on their boats.
Some boat owners have left for Sates like Orrisa, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu to get more workers, while the labourers who have worked in Goa for the last many years have started to return after their two-month break. The boat owners expect at least ninety per cent of the labourers to return within the next two days, before the season begins on August 1.
Around 250 mechanized boats operate from the Cutbona jetty. The boat owners expect at least 80 per cent of the boats to venture into the sea on the first day and all boats by August 10. They are also hopeful that they will have a good catch this fishing season.
Meanwhile, locals and the panchayat expressed displeasure with the Health and Fisheries departments, which had promised to construct around 50 Sulabh toilets for the migrants workers who work on the fishing boats. The locals stated that the migrants were responsible for spreading diseases like malaria and dengue.
The panchayat demanded that the Health department upgrade the labourers’ health facilities and provide a full-time doctor for the local primary health centre. Locals also demanded that health cards be given to the labourers.
At the Velim gram sabha on Sunday, member Seby Cardozo demanded that the panchayat, while giving a provisional NOC for extending the Cutbona fishing jetty by 226 meters, should insist on reserving 100 meters for local boat owners. The gram sabha members demanded that the panchayat protect the interests of the boat owners operating from the Cutbona jetty.
They rued how the upgradation and extension of the jetty was on the backburner and stated that the mouth of River Sal posed a problem to the boats leaving and returning to the jetty. They demanded that a permanent solution be found and that the authorities ensure they were prepared to deal with emergencies that could take place in the sea due to rough weather conditions.
