Several mechanised boats anchored in the sea at Tharuvaikulam in Thoothukudi district. | Photo Credit: N. RAJESH
Delay in upgradation of Tharuvaikulam fish landing centre into full-fledged modern fishing harbour as promised by Fisheries Minister Anita R. Radhakrishnan in the Assembly two years ago has irked a section of fishermen.
Responding to a query from Ottapidaaram MLA M.C. Shanmugaiah in the Assembly in April 2022, Mr. Radhakrishnan promised that the fish landing centre, which transacts business of more than ₹1.50 crore on a daily average, would be upgraded into a modern fishing harbour with all facilities.
The landing centre, which came up three decades ago with 25 mechanised boats, now has 255 mechanised boats carrying out multi day deep sea stay fishing and 130 country boats. However, only 26 mechanised boats can be berthed at the T-shaped jetty due to lack of depth and space.
“As sand accumulates near the jetty every minute due to absence of breakwater, the depth has reduced from the optimum eight feet to just four feet, which poses a serious threat to the boat’s safety. Hence, we berth the boats at the jetty’s tail areas where the depth is eight feet and above. We can berth only 26 boats, while all other boats are anchored in areas where drivers can find adequate depth,” said A. Churchill, a boat owner from Tharuvaikulam.
Hence, proper dredging should be done to accommodate more number of mechanised boats, besides constructing breakwater to prevent accumulation of sand and protect the boats berthed in the jetties from high tides, he added.
Fish exporter A. Manoharan of Tharuvaikulam said a minimum of two more jetties with a length of 200 metres should be constructed, while the existing 200-foot-long jetty should also be extended to 200 metres to accommodate all mechanised boats.
“Since the fishing operation in Tharuvaikulam is growing leaps and bounds, it should be upgraded into a full-fledged modern fishing harbour with all facilities at the earliest so as to ensure more revenue for Tamil Nadu,” Mr. Manoharan said.
However, the delay in translating the announcement into action has triggered unrest among the Tharuvaikulam fishermen even as a major political party has started holding meetings with them with the promise of supporting their protest for fishing harbour.
A fishermen representative of Tharuvaikulam said that fishing activities in Tharuvaikulam had increased several folds in the recent years. Hence, the number of mechanised boats had increased from 25 to 255 now. “We cannot understand as to why the Chief Minister is yet to give his nod for this much-awaited and much-needed project. Our plans to boycott the parliamentary polls were put on hold following assurance from the district administration but no announcement has been made so far. So, we have decided to stage a series of protests to press our genuine demand..”
