KOCHI: The huge cantilevered Chinese fishing nets, believed to have been introduced on the Kochi shores between 1350 and 1450 AD, have become a hallmark of Fort Kochi on the tourist map. However, the iconic structures, made of teak wood and bamboo poles, are facing the threat of extinction as a key project by the tourism department to revive them has drawn a blank.
It was around nine years ago that the tourism department entrusted the Kerala Industrial and Technology Consultancy Organisation (Kitco) with the task of refurbishing 11 Chinese fishing nets that dotted the Fort Kochi beachfront near the estuary. A sum of Rs 2.4 crore was allotted and the forest department even provided the necessary teak wood and Malabar ironwood, after sourcing the same from Mullaringadu forest in Kothamangalam.
Though the state government had transferred a major portion of the required fund to Kitco, the same has yet to be provided to the owners of the nets.
Currently, only a couple of Chinese fishing nets, a huge draw for tourists, are functional. Worse, a fishing boat hit one of them nearly three months ago, damaging it badly.
The owners of the nets who initiated the overhauling works by sourcing loans locally at high interest are in dire straits as they are yet to get the funds even after one year of completing the works. “The project was mooted under the initiative of the then tourism secretary V Venu in 2014. The state government even allotted nearly Rs 1.9 crore to Kitco.
The authorities refused to hand over the money directly to the owners and asked them to first initiate the refurbishing works, promising to release the funds stage-by-stage. Many availed loans and installed coconut timber stumps for the nets. Some had even nearly completed the works. But they are yet to be provided the funds even after a year,” said K J Sohan, former Mayor and a heritage enthusiast.
Vincent, a fisherman, who had incurred Rs 5 lakh for renovation of his Chinese fishing net, now struggles to pay off the loan interest. “My family has been earning a living with the Chinese fishing net for generations. So when the tourism department asked us to renovate them and add facilities for tourists, such as live fishing and a seating arena on the structure, while promising funds, we had high hopes.
I took a loan of nearly Rs 5 lakh and almost completed the work. It’s now one year and two months since I submitted all the expense bills and necessary documents to the authorities. But they are yet to clear the same. Now I’m neck-deep in debt,” rued Vincent.
The authorities, meanwhile, said certain issues related to GST are resulting in the delay. However, the owners, all of them fishermen, claim that they don’t fall under the purview of the tax as the GST council exempted them from the levy.
“Now many of them are doing other jobs to repay their debts. The teakwood logs and ironwood logs lay untouched for years altogether and started decaying, resulting in losses worth lakhs. It’s high time the authorities took urgent steps to release the funds and complete the renovation of the nets located at Vasco da Gama Square, the narrow walkway that runs along the Fort Kochi Beach,” pointed out Sohan, ex-convenor of the Kerala chapter of INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage).
When contacted, V Venu, now the state Chief Secretary, said: “This has been brought to my notice. I will look into the same.”