Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao on Tuesday asked the authorities to make ready the fish landing centre, being established at Kunthukal near Pamban at a cost of Rs. 70 crore by December, 2019. The fish landing centre was established by the Tamil Nadu Fisheries Department to save fishermen of Rameswaram fishing jetty, who had been fishing in the Palk Bay, from getting arrested by the Lankan Navy on the charge of trespassing into Lankan waters. The centre would have facilities to berth 300 mechanised and 100 country boats and the fishermen could venture into the Gulf of Mannar for fishing. Those who had opted for deep sea fishing could also use the facility. It would have 100 MT cold storage godown and an auction hall. Officials said construction of a jetty inside the sea for a length of 156 metres would be taken up. The project would be fully completed in time, they said. Stating that the reconstruction of Mookaiyur fishing harbour near Sayalkdui had been put on fast track, the Collector said the harbour would be ready by March. It would have facility to berth about 400 mechanised boats. He checked the facilities for fishermen, safety of fishermen when they ventured into the sea for fishing after inspecting the Mandapam fish landing centre. He asked the fishermen to desist from using single use plastic carry bags, disposable plastic materials and revert back to bio-degradable items. Revenue Divisional Officer R Suman, Assistant Director of Fisheries, Manikandan, Gopinath and Sivakumar, Assistant Director, Panchayats A Chelladurai were present.
2018, The Hindu