Union Minister of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Parshottam Rupala who visited the district on Friday as part of his nation-wide ‘Sagar Parikrama Yatra’ hailed the ‘Theera Sadassu’ initiative, a public interaction programme launched by the Kerala Fisheries department to converse with the coastal people directly and take remedial measures along with promoting the welfare programmes of the State government.
Mr. Rupala, while visiting the Beypore harbour here as part of his outreach programme, observed that the initiative was a positive step for ensuring the fishermen’s welfare. “We will keenly monitor its progress in Kerala and adapt every positive changes,” he assured.
At the same time, the Union Minister expressed his concerns over the inordinate delay in completing the work of a harbour at Mahe and called upon the State government to offer all possible technical support to resolve it. “During my visit, I have realised that the work has been going on for 12 years there and it is yet to be completed. The Central government is ready to offer all possible financial assistance,” he said.
Expressing satisfaction over the support of various State governments to his Yatra in the country, Mr. Rupala said he wanted to gather the suggestions and recommendations from various State governments, Fisheries department officials, and other stake holders in the sector to directly understand the issues and then push for some policy changes. He also pointed out that the initiative would cover an 8,000-km coastline that would find a solution to various livelihood issues and concerns related to various potable water supply schemes, fuel subsidy projects, and harbour development works.
The Union Minister who lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special consideration for the Fisheries sector and the formation of a separate ministry said there would be more policy level changes in the offing on completion of the ongoing Sagar Parikrama Yatra. The collaboration of both the State and Central government would be crucial for the realisation of all the development goals, he reminded.
Minister for Tourism and Public Works P.A. Mohamed Riyas, who presided over the interactive programme, submitted a project report seeking the intervention of the Union government for the further expansion of Beypore fishing harbour. Minister of State for Fisheries L. Murugan, Kerala Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian and the heads of various government departments were also present to receive the Yatra, which ended with a fishers’ meet at Samudra auditorium here in the evening.
