Decks have been cleared for construction of the Rs. 100-crore Fishing Harbour at Vellapallam in Nagapattinam district by the Central Institute of Coastal Engineering for Fishery (CICEF), Bengaluru. The project for which the foundation was laid during September 2019 remained static for two years due to COVID-19 pandemic, even after Environment Clearance and Coastal Regulation Zone Clearance were obtained by the Fisheries Department from the State-level Environment Impact Assessment Authority.
Environment Impact Assessment study was carried out by a consultant accredited by National Accreditation Board for Education and Training (NABET) , one of the statutory board of Quality Council of India (QCI). The Techno Economic Feasibility study was carried out between 2015-2018 and administrative sanction was accorded under Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF), based on a Detailed Project Report for construction of the fishing harbour with modern facilities.
Accompanied by Collector A. Arun Thamburaj, the Director of CICEF, Venkatesh Prasad, and Joint Director Belliappa on Wednesday inspected the project site where work on construction of breakwater has been carried out partially. The inspection was mandatory for further fund flow for the project, which had witnessed only 15 per cent completion so far. V. Raju, Chief Engineer, Fishing Harbour Project Circle, and M. Arul Bosco, Executive Director (infra), National Fisheries Development Board, Hyderabad, took part in a discussion convened by the CICEF team.
The team was apprised of various aspects of the project, including waves impact, littoral drift, and formation of sand dunes. The project entailing infrastructure for berthing of 100 mechanised fishing vessels and 1,000 fibre-reinforced crafts, and state-of-art handling of catches, was expected to encourage deep-sea fishing among the fishers of Vellapallam, Pushpavanam, Vizhunthamavadi, Vanavanmahadevi and a few other contiguous hamlets, an official of Fisheries Department said.
From the time of start, the project could take up to two years for completion. So far, breakwater structures have been created on the northern and southern sides to the extent of 325 metres and 450 metres respectively against the total planned lengths of 1,100 metres and 1,320 metres respectively, official sources said. Though there is now a requirement of berthing facilities for 45 mechanised fishing vessels and 600 fibre-reinforced crafts, the project has been conceived to meet requirements for the next 20 years. The fishers in these villages have been berthing their boats in Nagapattinam harbour and Jegadapattinam harbour in Pudukottai district.