Beypore harbour dredging from Saturday
The Hindu
Dredging work at Beypore fishing harbour to increase depth, facilitate safe entry of more fishing boats, address operator concerns.
Dredging work to increase the depth of the Beypore fishing harbour here will begin on Saturday with the support of a Goa-based company. The Harbour Engineering department will supervise the work that has been pending for months.
The dredger and the barge have already been brought to the harbour. The work is expected to cost ₹5.94 crore.
According to Harbour Engineering department officials, dredging will remove 95,000 cubic metre soil from the harbour area. Dredged materials would be dumped back into the deep sea nearly 5 km away from the harbour area, they said.
Fishing boat operators and fishermen have welcomed the allotment of funds for the work which is expected to facilitate the safe entry of more fishing boats into the harbour. The shallow harbour area had been causing trouble for operators of larger fishing boats, they said.
“Our main demand is to enhance basic amenities at the harbour, including its extension in such a way as to accommodate around 1,000 fishing boats operating in the area. Mere dredging work alone will never address our concerns,” said Karichali Preman, vice president of All Kerala Fishing Boat Owners Association. He added that local fishers and boat operators would soon submit a memorandum to Union and State governments for considering the pending development projects.
Fishing boat operators from Beypore harbour said the lack of space at the harbour had been forcing many of the boat operators to anchor their boats at Karuvanthiruthy during the monsoon season. According to them, the extension of the existing harbour is the only solution to ensure the safe anchoring of boats during the off-season.