Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (MS)

Mangaluru, Nov 19: Silt is the biggest issue faced by fishermen and boat owners in the fishing port of the city. The area from where the boats begin their journey and come back to off load the catch of fish is filled with silt. Navigating the boat is very difficult during low tide as there is a huge danger of the boat getting stuck in the silt.

The issue of silt accumulation in the fishing port at Bunder is a long standing one. At Malpe port in Udupi, 54 fishermen have died from 2017 to 2022 due to the silt accumulation. Though no loss of life has occurred in Mangaluru port, danger always looms large.

A grant of Rs 3.90 crore is released for silt removal at the fishing port of Bunder. But no one knows when the actual removal of silt will take place. There is also demand to use cutting dredger technology for silt removal.

Fayaz, a fisherman from Tamil Nadu says, “Our life is in danger while starting the boat from and bringing it back to the fishing port as it might get stuck in silt any time.”

There are rescue guards in the estuary and also in the fishing port to save lives in case fishermen fall into water. Moreover, most of the fishermen are expert swimmers. However, if one gets stuck in silt, there is no chance of survival.

In boats that are used to ferry passengers, there are protective railing on the sides. However, in fishing boats the sides are open for easier lowering and pulling of the fishing net. The chances of fishermen falling into sea during lowering or pulling of nets are very high. In fishing ports, there are chances that one might fall while going from one boat to another.

Rajesh Puthran, secretary of Trawl Boat fishermen association says that the silt was last removed 10 years ago. Now it has accumulated to dangerous levels.