CPT to give land for fishing harbour at Vallarpadam

Kochi, June 15 (UNI) Conceding the demand of the fishermen being affected by the Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal here, the Cochin Port Trust has agreed to give land for the construction of a fishing harbour, Kerala Fisheries Minister S Sarma said today.

Talking to reporters after a meeting with Cochin Port Trust chairman N Ramachandran and Ernakulam District Collector A P M Mohammad Hanish, he said the CPT had agreed to give land next to the upcoming 'international free trade zone' at Vallarpadam for the fishing harbour.

A joint inspection of the proposed site would be carried out by the CPT and the fisheries department engineers and a master plan would be made for the harbour by the end of next month, he said.

On the 45-day trawling ban that had come into effect in Kerala from midnight yesterday, Mr Sarma said that he had given strict instructions to the Coast Guard and the marine enforcement wing to prevent operations by foreign trawlers in the coastal waters during this period.

Violations of the trawling ban by foreign trawlers had come to the notice of the authorities during previous years, he said.

Mr Sarma said the first phase of the HUDCO drinking water project for Kochi city will be commissioned within a month.

Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan will also hold a meeting with senior officials next month to discuss various developmental and infrastructure projects in Kochi such as the LNG terminal, Vallarpadam international container transshipment terminal and the Kochi Metro, he said.

The meeting of the Cochin International Airport Ltd. (CIAL) would be held here on July six.

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