200 fishermen all at sea over wooden bridge at Palolem

Poinguinim: Over 200 fishermen in Palolem stare at an uncertain future as a makeshift wooden bridge began being built in the creek early on Wednesday.
While the chief officer of the Canacona municipality, Vikas Kambli, denied giving approval to such a project, the fishermen now have no space to anchor their canoes, a practice they had been following over the past several decades.
Kambli, who also holds the charge of deputy collector’s office, inspected the site and directed the person involved in the illegality to produce proper documents.
“In the absence of a secure space to anchor boats, the fishermen will have to leave them in the high seas. Nowadays, we witness cyclones and storms. In such eventualities, Palolem creek was the only solace for the fishermen,” local councillor Dayanand Pagi, said.
Divakar Pagi, another councillor, said the bridge has been constructed between Monko island and Ranchival in Palolem.
Kambli said the structure is in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules and river navigation norms. “We will ensure that it is demolished in due course,” he said.