Vijayawada: In a big boon to the fishermen in Prakasam district, Union govt has agreed to construct a fishing harbour in Kothapatnam mandal and asked the district administration to identify about 40 acres of land to take up the project under Sagarmala-2 project.
The Centre is expected to spend around 400 crore for the project which is expected to benefit over 15,000 fishermen families.
The proposed fishing harbour will house entire infrastructure required for fishermen including the cold chains, roads and anchoring facilities. The proposal for construction of fishing harbour in Kothapatnam mandal has been hanging in the balance for the past decade.
Though the Centre had agreed to take up the project under Sagarmala-I, it did not take off due to technical issues in land acquisition. The Union govt wanted about 40 acres of land for the habour but the then TDP govt between 2014 and 2019 could locate just around 10 acres of land.
Subsequently, YSRCP govt took up fishing harbours in the neighbouring Bapatla (Nizampatnam) and Juvvaladinne (Nellore) districts by ignoring the long-pending demands from fishermen in Prakasam district.
The proposal for the construction of a fishing harbour was revived after Chandrababu Naidu-led NDA govt stormed to power in the state a few months ago. The proposal gained momentum after senior TDP leader from Prakasam district, Damacharla Satya, took charge as AP maritime board chairman recently. He visited New Delhi along with the maritime board officials and met Union minister Rajeev Ranjan (Lallan Singh).
The Union minister held a quick review meeting with the officials and promised to take up the project under Sagarmala-II if the state govt is willing to provide the required land.
“We will identify land very soon as we have already asked the district collector to get proposals ready for the construction of new harbour,” said Damacharla Satya. He said that the new facility would not only help the fishermen but also create huge employment to the locals as new industries and cold chains would come up in the area. He said that the presence of allied industries will help fishermen get higher prices for their stock.
The Centre is expected to spend around 400 crore for the project which is expected to benefit over 15,000 fishermen families.
The proposed fishing harbour will house entire infrastructure required for fishermen including the cold chains, roads and anchoring facilities. The proposal for construction of fishing harbour in Kothapatnam mandal has been hanging in the balance for the past decade.
Though the Centre had agreed to take up the project under Sagarmala-I, it did not take off due to technical issues in land acquisition. The Union govt wanted about 40 acres of land for the habour but the then TDP govt between 2014 and 2019 could locate just around 10 acres of land.
Subsequently, YSRCP govt took up fishing harbours in the neighbouring Bapatla (Nizampatnam) and Juvvaladinne (Nellore) districts by ignoring the long-pending demands from fishermen in Prakasam district.
The proposal for the construction of a fishing harbour was revived after Chandrababu Naidu-led NDA govt stormed to power in the state a few months ago. The proposal gained momentum after senior TDP leader from Prakasam district, Damacharla Satya, took charge as AP maritime board chairman recently. He visited New Delhi along with the maritime board officials and met Union minister Rajeev Ranjan (Lallan Singh).
The Union minister held a quick review meeting with the officials and promised to take up the project under Sagarmala-II if the state govt is willing to provide the required land.
“We will identify land very soon as we have already asked the district collector to get proposals ready for the construction of new harbour,” said Damacharla Satya. He said that the new facility would not only help the fishermen but also create huge employment to the locals as new industries and cold chains would come up in the area. He said that the presence of allied industries will help fishermen get higher prices for their stock.
