KARAIKAL: Heeding to persistent demands from the local fisherfolk, dredging work in a stretch of 1440 metres of a navigation channel of Karaikal harbour at River Arasalar's estuary commenced on Thursday.
The fishers had been complaining about their boats getting damaged from bumping into the silt mounds in the estuary while navigating in and out to sea. The works that are expected to be completed in the next three months was flagged off by Puducherry Assembly Speaker 'Embalam' R Selvam .
"The navigation channel will be split into three zones and will be dredged up to depths such as 2.2 metres, 3.3 metres and 4 metres in the respective zones. The fishers can continue to venture in and out to sea as one side of the channel will be kept open while the works will be carried out on the other side at a time," said D Govindassamy, fisheries department deputy director.
The estuary was last dredged in 2019, according to sources. Over the years, silt accumulated under the water surface along the estuary, causing difficulty for fishers. The National Centre for Coastal Research conducted a study on the feasibility for the works last year and the Fisheries department prepared a detailed project report . However, the fund needed was delayed by years.
Due to this, the fisherfolk became restless and refused to go fishing in protest. Works finally commenced after allocation of funds through the Puducherry Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare Department. The Irrigation and Public Health Division of Puducherry public works department (PWD) will dredge the estuary on behalf of the fisheries Department. J Mahesh, PWD executive engineer, said, "A dredging company from Nagapattinam is executing the works. We can dredge the channel within the targeted time. The material extracted can also be used to fill low-level areas at the harbour."