Hopes are riding high for the Kerala tourism sector and the fisherfolk as the renovation of one of the fabled Chinese fishing nets that dot the Fort Kochi beachfront near the estuary has been completed as part of a project, which was kick-started nine years ago, of the Kerala Tourism department.
As part of the much-awaited overhauling of the fishing nets, the iron pipes, which are a sore to the cantilevered structures, will be replaced with rods made of heavy teak wood and Malabar iron wood.
The workers associated with the Chinese nets are hoping that the refurbishing work of all the iconic 11 fishing nets in Fort Kochi can be completed in two months if there is continuous financial support from the tourism department for the project.
Though Kerala Industrial and Technology Consultancy Organization (Kitco) is entrusted with the task to execute the project, the work is carried out under the aegis of the Chinese Net Owners’ Association as per the high court order that only workers associated with the Chinese nets had the technical expertise to undertake such renovation activities.
Project gains momentum after caught in net for 9 years
The Kerala Government had earmarked Rs 1.57 crore for the conservation of age-old Chinese fishing nets in 2014. And the aim of the tourism department was to complete the renovation work in 40 days before the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to India.
The state government had also transferred the first tranche of financial support, which was 80 percent of the total cost, to Kitco but the project was on the back burner till 2018. Giving a new lease of life to the project, Kitco officials announced recently that teak wood was sourced from the Mullaringadu forest in Kothamangalam to revamp the 11 Chinese nets. The government gave the nod to set aside Rs 2.4 crore for the project and close to Rs 1.30 crore of the total amount was utilized to source requisite wood from the forest department.
Owners’ concern
The owners of the Chinese fishing nets are brooding over the delay in getting funds released from the tourism department to meet the expenses incurred by them to overhaul the nets. Many owners had taken loan to the tune of Rs one lakh each to put in place coconut timber stumps for the fishing nets.
Though the authorities concerned gave an assurance that the bills will be cleared in 10 days, the owners are still waiting for money after six months. The owner of the Chinese fishing net that had been renovated is in dire straits due to the lethargy of the officials concerned in disbursing funds. The authorities cited Goods and Services Tax (GST)-related issues as the reason for the delay in clearing the bills.
After the timely intervention of Fort Kochi sub-collector P Vishnuraj, the tourism department officials have given an assurance that the funds will be released to the net owners without further ado. Local MLA K J Maxi has informed that the Chinese net renovation project would be completed in the immediate future.
