MARGAO: Following complaints by trawler owners at Cutbona jetty and fishermen at Betul over the delay in the construction of the training wall at the mouth of River Sal, which will help address the navigational issues they have been facing for years, the Fisheries Department stated that they are still waiting for the Environmental Clearance (EC) needed to execute the project.
Fishermen have for years complained about the sandbar that has blocked the navigational channel which makes it very difficult for their boats to head out into the sea or return to the jetty/shore.
“The Department had approached the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA-Goa), to issue the EC for the construction of the Training wall at Mobor. Further, the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) conducted meetings and also the site inspections. The committee has sought additional detail, for which a fresh study needs to be done. Accordingly, the government has approved to undertake the studies through the CSIR-NIO (National Institute of Oceanography),” Nilkanth Halarnkar, Fisheries Minister.
However, it is to be noted that the fishing community has been receiving similar replies whenever they have gone to meet the Fisheries department or other departments or even the Union Fisheries Minister. They have been hoping that the wall would have been constructed before the monsoon season.
On a different note, the Minister said the Cutbona jetty work has been completed.
Regarding the toilet block, he added that work of commissioning a Sewerage Treatment Plant and 12-seater toilet at Fisheries Complex at Cutbona had been completed and that the same is in operation.
The Minister further added that the Department has also proposed to construct a 50-seater toilet cum bathroom through the Sulabh International Social Service Organisation and that the government is considering it.
