After many years of wait and technical glitches, the development work of the Vellayil fish landing centre is finally nearing completion. The renovated area with improved facilities for the safe anchoring of boats and the auctioning of daily catch will be commissioned within a couple of weeks. It was in 2012 that the development proposal of the fish landing centre was given sanction. The expected time of completion then was in 2017. The project implementation got delayed due to several factors including the delay in the allocation of funds and retendering procedures. The technical issues related to the re-construction of breakwaters also interrupted the project.
Fisheries Department officials said the renovated fish landing centre would have facilities such as safe wharf, auction hall, loading area, parking space, administrative block, improved electrification, hygienic drain, and compound wall. About ?75 crore has been so far spent for the improvement of the area, they said. According to the officials, the congestion at the Puthiyappa harbour would be reduced to a great extent with the opening of the Vellayil fish landing centre. The improved facilities for boat operations would naturally increase the daily catch and the revenue of fishers, they said. The leaders of various fishermen organisations said the full-fledged functioning of the Vellayil harbour would fetch its direct benefits to thousands of fishermen from the Kozhikode urban area. Those who heavily depended on the Beypore and Puthiyappa harbours would be able to operate from Vellayil and it would be very convenient for fishers from Kamburam, Thoppayil, and Puthiyakadavu areas, they said.
Meanwhile, some of them alleged that the harbour department had failed to complete the construction of the breakwaters as suggested by the experts in the project area. According to them, it would badly affect the safety of the anchored fishing boats. They also claimed that the funds allotted by the State government for the purpose were diverted for de-silting work in the area. However, sources in the harbour engineering department rejected the allegation. They claimed that the work on a smaller portion was temporarily put on hold owing to the high tide and the difficulty in proceeding with the construction activity. They also said that the desilting work was launched to ensure the smooth movement of fishing boats.