Fishermen stage protest as dredging gets delayed

T'puram: Fishermen staged a protest on Friday at harbour engineering office as the proposed dredging of the harbour mouth at Muthalapozhi is getting delayed further. The fishermen staged different protests for several days, as the govt has not started the dredging on time.Now, the officials promised that dredging will begin in two days. However, several fishermen who use small boats are facing a crisis because of the accumulation of sand at the Muthalapozhi harbour mouth. The fishermen sail out to the sea through the harbour mouth. On Friday, a fishing boat got damaged after it hit rocks while returning to the shore with a catch early in the morning. Alphonse George, chairman of the fishermen's coordination committee Anchuthengu, said that the delay in dredging work, which is already late, is affecting the livelihood of many fishermen."We are unable to take the boats out of fear of hitting the rocks. Fishermen from Veli to Kappil stretch are affected. The situation is terrible. Many boats are anchored off the coast because they cannot sail in," he added.Many fishermen stopped taking the boats out to sea, he said, and added that the govt has readied everything for dredging, but they are yet to start it. The fishermen who staged minor protests in the last two months escalated it last week and blocked the Anchuthengu-Perumathura road. At that time, the govt promised that dredging will start in four days. But it is yet to begin.