Chennai: The demand of the fishermen in coastal Kanyakumari district for establishing a harbour at Colachel is decades old. Chief minister J. Jayalalithaa’s allocation of Rs 87.75 crores after approving the revised project estimates has raised hope among the fishing community that the project would fructify soon.
The issue had echoed in the state Assembly on several occasions when Congress legislators raised the issue demanding that the state government initiate steps to pave way for developing a natural harbour in the historic town of Colachel, which is in existence since 1920.
At one stage, an exasperated Congress member J. G. Prince, who could not withstand the delay in commissioning the project, stood up and appealed to Jayalalithaa to take a personal interest and ensure the project materialised.
The Chief minister promptly assured that the project would be taken up and also reminded him that the state government had to fund several major projects despite little help from the Centre on the financial front.
In the absence of good berthing facilities, over 1,500 mechanised boatmen of this tiny town on the west coast have been depending on Kerala ports and port at Rameswaram for berthing. Some of them had even switched operations to neighbouring states and this often led to territorial disputes.
