Condemning the ‘unscientific’ design of Thengaipattinam Fishing Harbour and the groynes that have caused several fatal accidents at the entry / exit point of the harbour, fishermen struck work on Tuesday and staged continuous protests since morning.
Since the flawed designing of the fishing harbor and the groynes laid nearby have failed to neutralize violent tides, mechanised and the country boats entering or leaving the harbour would be tossed up in the air and vessels would overturn to kill the fishermen. According to the fishermen operating from this harbour, 26 persons have lost their lives since 2017.
Moreover, 20 country boats and five mechanised boats have been damaged badly in these accidents, they say.
Whenever the fisheries department officials visit the fishing harbour after every accident, they used to leave the spot with the assurance that “corrective measures” would be taken at the earliest to avert accidents at the harbour’s entry / exit point. But no step has been taken to translate these assurances into action so far.