Handlooms Minister O.S.Manian inaugurated construction of a mini fishing harbour at a cost of ₹34.30 crore under the self-sufficiency scheme at Nambiar Nagar here on Friday. Bhoomi pooja was performed last year but there was delay in construction. The project has reached the execution stage despite legal hurdles, he said.
Nambiar Nagar, with a population of about 4,400, is situated about two km away from Nagapattinam town.
Fishers own 96 mechanised boats and 256 fibre boats. While fibre boats docked on the seashore, mechanised boats have to be docked at Nagapattinam harbour. A majority of fibre boats were damaged during cyclone Gaja.
The mini harbour has been sanctioned to reduce congestion at Nagapattinam harbour and provide better amenities for fishermen of Nambiar Nagar. Villagers are contributing ₹11.43 crore for the project and the rest was provided by the government. The harbour will include a boat landing stage of 100 metres in length and 12 metres in width.
He also inaugurated construction of a groin and dredging of the river mouth at Pattinacherry. The groin to be built on the north bank of the Vettar at Nagore Pattinacherry has been sanctioned at a cost of ₹19.87 crore. The groin would prevent frequent silting up of the river mouth impeding the movement of boats.
The groin would be built for a distance of about 360 metres. Already a groin was built on the opposite side – on the south bank of the Vettar. A fish landing centre was built in 2014. The river mouth would also be dredged and deepened as part of the project. Once the works were completed, boats can set sail smoothly into the sea from the coast, Mr.Manian said.
Collector Praveen B. Nair was present.