Will de-privatise all harbours after returning to power: Jagan

Tirupati: Former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has vowed to de-privatise all harbours in the state and dedicate them to the fishermen communities after returning to power in the state. The YSRCP chief made these assurances on the sidelines of his visit to Juvvaladinne harbour in Nellore district on Wednesday. Addressing local fishermen after visiting the fishing harbour, Jagan slammed the NDA coalition govt in the state for destroying the blue economy and handing over the harbour to private parties after coming to power in the state. He questioned chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu as to why the Juvveladinne harbour, which was completed during his term, was privatised to a defence company instead of handing it over to the fishermen communities."There is ample land at the nearby Krishnapatnam port, but still this govt chose to give away land here for commercial reasons. I assure you that in the coming days, roles will be reversed and we will dedicate all the harbours to fishermen and improve the blue economy," he said.Recalling that it was the YSRCP govt which planned four ports and 10 fishing harbours, besides six fish landing centres, to ensure facilities along the coast at a cost of Rs 26,000 crore after securing all permissions from the Maritime Board, Jagan said even though the Juvvaladinne harbour works were completed during the YSRCP regime itself, it couldn't be inaugurated due to the model code of conduct coming into effect in 2024."After its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chandrababu Naidu allotted the Juvvaladinne harbour to a private defence company, adversely affecting the interests of the local fishermen communities. We will take corrective measures upon assuming power and dedicate all harbours to the fishermen. We will provide 1,250 mechanised boats at 90% subsidy, which will help over 25,000 families, as each boat will be shared by a group of fishermen and boost the blue economy. Chandrababu Naidu has been harming the livelihoods of fishermen to push his commercial agenda," the YSRCP chief alleged.Jagan also slammed the govt for failing to protect the interests of local fishermen communities despite several instances of Tamil Nadu fishermen illegally entering Andhra Pradesh coastline. "With heavy mechanised boats from Tamil Nadu entering our waters, our fishermen stopped them and handed over the boats and fishermen to the police. But four days after Nara Lokesh's visit to this place, the boats vanished, with the active role played by the Beda brothers, local MP and MLA, whose call data with the boats' owner is available," Jagan claimed.