Rs 4.80 cr sanctioned to Ullal Kodi jetty

Secretary to the Department of Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Minorities Welfare A B Ibrahim visited Ullal Kodi on Friday and held talks with fishermen.

Ibrahim informed that a boat jetty was sanctioned at Ullal Kodi to help the boats to anchor there. The work is likely to be flagged off before or after the monsoon.

The jetty will be 82 metres long and will have an eight metre ramp. An amount of Rs 4.80 crore was sanctioned for the purpose. The government also had sanctioned Rs 185 crore to Hejamadi port.

Depending on the number of boats, the size of the jetty will be ascertained at Ullal Kodi, Ibrahim added.

Fishing using LED lights or fish light attractors on mechanised fishing boats, including motorised fishing crafts is not only destroying the population of small fish but also snatching away the livelihood of fishermen, charged traditional fishermen.

In Kerala, a fine of Rs 5.25 lakh was slapped on those who violated the ban on fishing using lights. However, only Rs 5,000 is being slapped on violators as fine in Karnataka, they complained.

Ibrahim directed Fisheries Department Deputy Director Thippe Gowda to discuss the issue with senior officers and submit a letter to the government.

Ullal Dargah President Abdul Rasheed said Muslims and members of Mogaveera community in Ullal had been eking out living by fishing. If the small jetty is constructed, it will benefit only the traditional boats.

A huge jetty should be constructed for the benefit of the entire fishermen community, he added.