A fishing harbour is a body of water that provides safe anchoring for fishing vessels while also carrying out activities such as landing, handling, processing, and marketing of fish, as well as facilitating meetings between buyers, sellers, and service providers, making it a site of confluence between production and trade. coastline.
Pazhayar fishing harbour is one of four medium-sized fishing harbours in the state, located on the northernmost limit of the Mayiladuthurai district, where the Kollidam and Pazhayar rivers run into the Bay of Bengal. Because of its proximity to the mangrove forest habitat, it is also one of the major estuaries and a strategic position.
According to official sources, the government has sanctioned 26.26 crore under PMMSY to develop the infrastructure at Pazhayar fishing harbour. The preliminary work on a 180-metre-long Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) diaphragm wall, a 30-tonne-capacity ice plant for cold storage facilities, and an 80-metre retaining wall is currently underway.
Meanwhile, protestors have emphasised the importance of improving other amenities at the fishing port. According to J. Deepak Vasanth, an activist, the approach route to Pazhayar is congested and needs to be expanded due to the large-scale movement of automobiles. Sewage water clogs the road, causing a bad odour and an unsanitary environment.
Parking facilities for trucks arriving to load the catch must be enhanced. Similarly, construction of a fishing harbour in Tharangambadi is underway at a cost of Rs 120 crore through the Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF).
Breakwater structures 340 metres long on the northern side and 1,070 metres long on the southern side will be built at the fishing harbour, where construction is nearing completion, according to the official.
