Chhatrapur: Even as three years have passed since the announcement for construction of a fishing jetty in between Bada Aryapalli and Sana Aryapalli villages under this block in Ganjam district, the project is yet to take off, a report said.
As no steps are being taken for construction of the jetty, fishermen are facing difficulties in moving their boats into the sea as the fishing jetty build 30 years back has buried. As a result, fishermen in this district are migrating to other states for livelihood.
The jetty was proposed to be built on 23 acres at an expenditure of Rs 100 crore. The jetty is proposed to have anchoring facilities for 1000 fishing boats.
Over 50,000 fishermen hailing from 10 villages are dependent on the old fishing jetty.
The fishermen in the seaside villages of this district migrate to states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and Maharashtra. Moreover, many fishermen are forced to leave their traditional occupation and work as labourers at construction sites.
The old fishing jetty which functions from Gopalpur port premises was constructed 30 years back when late Biju Patnaik was the Chief Minister. The jetty started getting buried from 2007 and with the passage of time it has almost lost its existence. Moreover, its presence has become a matter of concern for the security of Gopalpur port.
The construction of the new fishing jetty first came up for discussion in the office of the then minister for fisheries and animal husbandry April 21, 2016.
Later, the state government decided in favour of a new fishing jetty following which a high-level technical team from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras visited the place and conducted a feasibility study.
Later, a team from the Central Institute of Coastal Engineering for Fishery visited the spot and submitted a report to the state government recommending construction of a jetty. The submission of the reports brightened hopes that the new fishing jetty will soon be constructed. However, the project is yet to see the light of day. Local fishermen have demanded the state government to intervene and start the jetty construction.
PNN