PARADIP: Even as the number of boats operating in Paradip fishing jetty has been increasing every year, plans to expand the jetty or construct a new one have been confined to pen and paper. There is no space in the fishing harbour to anchor boats or pindis to process and sell fish. Land for construction of a new fishing jetty is yet to be made available.
Paradip Fishing Harbour lacks basic facilities and is overcrowded. While it has the capacity to accommodate 300 boats, at present 800 boats operate from the jetty. Although the number of mechanised boats has been increasing, the infrastructure has remained the same and there is a growing need for another jetty to accommodate all the boats.
Fishermen said as they do not get space to anchor their boats in the harbour after returning from the sea, they have to wait for two to three days and in the process, the catch gets damaged.
The fishing harbour was built in 1996 at a cost of `39 crore and in 2011, the State Government formed a Fishing Harbour Management Committee (FHMC) for its effective administration. However, condition of the harbour and fishing jetty deteriorated due to poor upkeep over the years.
Besides, no steps have been taken to dredge the Mahanadi river mouth for safe movement of boats and trawlers from the jetty. The depth of the river mouth is decreasing due to massive siltation, posing threat to trawlers and boats.
Odisha Marine Fishermen Association (OMFA) president Srikanta Kumar Parida had sought intervention of the Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Department, a wing of the Union Ministry of Agriculture, to initiate steps for expansion of the jetty.
After receiving the proposal, Secretary of Animal Husbandry Department, Debendra Chaudhry visited Paradip in March this year and interacted with Chairman of Paradip Port Trust Rinkesh Ray, district and fisheries officials and representatives of fishermen association for infrastructure development of the fishing harbour.
While Chaudhry assured to look into construction of the new jetty, he had urged the district administration for allocation of land for the purpose. Jagatsinghpur Collector Yamini Sarangi identified six acres of land belonging to the Paradip Port Trust (PPT) near the fishing jetty. Since the Revenue Department has no land near the fishing harbour, the administration decided to get six acres of land from the PPT in exchange of revenue land. However, the land is yet to be alienated.
Only after exchange of land between the PPT and Revenue Department, a proposal would be sent to the Union Ministry of Agriculture for construction of another fishing jetty at a cost of `8 crores.
Docking trouble
The fishing harbour was built in 1996 at a cost of Rs 39 crore and in 2011, the State Government formed a Fishing Harbour Management Committee for its effective administration.
Condition of the harbour and fishing jetty deteriorated due to poor upkeep over the years
There is no space in the fishing harbour to anchor boats or pindis to process and sell the fish