Boat carrying 16 fishermen overturns at Muthalapozhi amid delay in dredging, 2 injured

Thiruvanathapuram: A boat with 16 fishermen overturned near the Muthalapozhi harbour on Thursday.

The estuary has remained a critical talking point after a series of boat mishaps were reported of late in the channel, of which some claimed the lives of hapless fishermen along the coastal villages near the state capital.

The fishing vessel owned by a Varkala man capsised at around 6 am on Thursday. All the fishermen swam to safety. Two were injured in the mishap.

The accident comes amid the delay in the dredging work at the harbour to provide the navigation channel necessary depth for vessels to pass.

At a high-level meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram on July 31, in which three ministers including fisheries minister Saji Cherian were present, it was agreed that Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited (AVPPL) will resume the dredging of sand from August 1.

Under an MoU signed with the Harbour Engineering Department (HED) in 2018, it is AVPPL's responsibility to dredge the 'navigation channel' and maintain its depth at 5 metres till 2024 May. The rocks that had slipped into the navigation channel should also have been removed by the AVPPL.

Neither dredging nor the removal of rocks was carried out by the Adani Group after 2021.

As a result, the sand brought in by both the sea and the lagoon is piling up on top of the rocks, increasing the intensity of the waves and posing risk to motorised fishing boats.

The estuary had consumed the lives of 68 fishermen in the last decade. Four had lost their lives on a single day on July 10 this year.

The negligence of the Adani Group had earlier forced the HED to float tenders for the removal of the boulders. The contractor who won the tender has refused to start work citing monsoon-related difficulties.

At the meeting on August 31, Adani Group was once again told of its obligations and its representatives agreed to remove the boulders. The removal of rocks will take at least three weeks. So dredging proper will begin only next month.

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