Fishermen in Puducherry are anxious about losing their livelihood as the countdown for conducting a trial run to handle cargo operations in Puducherry Port begins. Minister for Welfare M. Kandasamy and MLA Anbalagan on Saturday paid a visit to review the preparedness.
A senior port official said the trail run may begin any time in the coming week. The fishermen had been asked to remove their boats and fishing net from the port dock. An official from the Fisheries Department was seen convincing the fishermen in this regard.
At least 1,000 fishermen from Vambakeerapalayam, Kuruchikuppam and Vaithikuppam have been using the port to dock their boats and leave the fishing nets for the last 15 years. “We were forced to move our boats here. We have been using this space in the port for the past 15 years,” said a fisherman from Vambakeerapalayam.
Alternative location
The fishermen added that they have appealed to the port officials, Ministers and Chief Minister to address this issue and provide them an alternative location for their boats. “Despite several appeals, we have not received any response from the officials. They want us to vacate this place. They have neither promised to provide us employment nor shown an alternative place. Our livelihood will be affected if the port operations begin,” the fishermen said.
They said that they would not move from the port without any alternative.
A senior port official said the port was expected to handle 100 loaded containers on alternate days and three lakh tonne cargo per annum. “Slowly, the capacity will be expanded up to one million tonne,” he said.
The official said the Puducherry port would act as a hub of Chennai port. “This port will handle cargo such as cement and steel bound for interior districts of Tamil Nadu,” he said.
Mr. Kandasamy stated that he had instructed the officials to look for alternative space for the fishermen.
