Fisherfolk organized a protest on the sea on the beach of Vellamin in Nagapattinam on Friday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Fisherfolk from several villages on the vellapallam beach near Vedranyam organized a protest along the coast on Friday and condemned the delay in completing the Fishing Harbor Construction Project project in Vellapallam and demanding further funds for its timely restoration.
The project, launched in 2020 in Vellapall, focused on the construction of a modern curved fishing port based on Groyne. While almost 60% of the construction was completed, the work stopped a few months ago due to lack of funds.
On Friday morning, a large number of fishermen from Vellapallam, Vanavan Mahadevi and the surrounding coastal villages entered the sea.
R. Gajalakshmi, the Commissioner for Fishing and Fishing Social Welfare, who visited the district on Friday, met protesting together with officials in the Nagapattinam district collector together with the district collector P. Akash. Both assured the protesters that the appropriate steps would be taken to meet their requirements.
Revised estimate
The official sources from the fishing department told Hindu that the Vellalam fishing port was originally planned for the price of 100 GBP Crore.
“After the completion of more than half of the project, it was clear that additional funds would be required to complete the remaining work. A revised estimate of 160 GBP Crore was sent to the state government. However, it was not sanctioned. We have now been asked to submit a simplified revised estimate to complete the remaining work.
Published – 11 July 2025 06:55
