NMPA appeals to constitute committee to study Kulai harbour project

Following the apprehensions raised by the fishermen during a meeting with the New Mangalore Port Authority (NMPA) and fisheries minister Mankal S Vaidya, the minister decided to keep the work on hold till a second opinion is obtained from IIT Madras and that this assignment can be completed within a period of 10 days.

Mangaluru: The New Mangalore Port Authority (NMPA) suggested that since IIT Madras, NITK Surathkal, CICEF Bengaluru, and CWPRS Pune are already involved with the Kulai harbour project, a separate committee comprising any other reputed government institutions like IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, NIO Goa, or any such agency as deemed fit may be formed to study the suitability, safety, and design of the present layout of breakwaters of the project.

Following the apprehensions raised by the fishermen during a meeting with the NMPA and fisheries minister Mankal S Vaidya, the minister decided to keep the work on hold till a second opinion is obtained from IIT Madras and that this assignment can be completed within a period of 10 days. In this background, the NMPA suggested that a separate committee be constituted, stated a release from NMPA.

The NMPA also opined that there may be no member from the Director of Fisheries and NMPA as they are project proponent and implementing agency respectively. NMPA also requested to ensure that there shall be no conflict of interest while selecting the institutions for study and the process shall be completed without violating the rules.

To address the apprehensions raised by local traditional fishermen, several meetings were held; however, no conclusion was drawn to the satisfaction of the fishermen. Following a meeting, the works related to the harbour were stopped from October 17. Further, a meeting was held on November 27, in the presence of the Minister for Fisheries, Ports and Inland Water Transport.

On whether it is safe for country boats to manoeuvre the mouth of Kulai fishing harbour during the monsoon, it was clarified by Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) Pune, which is a domain expert, that the expected tranquillity at the mouth of Kulai Fishing Harbour after completion of the project and dredging as per the designs, is within the parameters for safe manoeuvring of the country boats even during the monsoon.

Giving out details regarding the construction of the fishing harbour at Chitrapura (Kulai), NMPA stated that pursuant to the decision of the union and state government to construct a fishing harbour, the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) Pune, based on the oceanographic data, carried out model studies during 1998-2002.

Based on the studies, the Central Institute of Coastal Engineering for Fishery (CICEF), Bengaluru prepared the Detailed Project Report (DPR). After the studies and several meetings with the concerned parties, the current location was finalised for constructing a fishing harbour out of the four locations which were considered for the purpose.

The union government considered the request of the state and decided to implement/execute the project under the Sagarmala scheme as per the designs and estimates submitted by the state.

The administrative approval for the project was accorded in 2018, and NMPA was given the role of an implementing agency. NMPA would hand over the project after its construction to the state government to operate and maintain the same.

In the above backdrop, which involved extensive consultations before commencing the construction, there was no reason or occasion for further consultation at this juncture, with anyone. The project work is in progress, and about 26% of the work is completed.