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Fishermen vow to ground hydrofoil service in Kerala

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

The Arabian sea is likely to witness high action when the Kerala Government's hydrofoil service sets off. Fishermen have geared up to block the service, claiming it will harm fishing along the coast and hit over 100,000 of them.

They are mobilising fishing boats to block the service at different points from Vizhinjam to Kozhikode.

Kerala Matsyathozhilali Congress Thiruvananthapuram district president Veli Varghese told rediff.com that three fleets consisting of 100 boats each would be pressed into action.

He said discussions with various groups, including the Church, were on for united resistance.

The fishermen are upset with the government's failure to respond to their concerns.

"Chief Minister E K Nayanar and Fisheries Minister T K Ramakrishnan have ignored our memoranda," said Varghese.

Kerala Swathanthra Malsya Thozhilaly Federation president T Peter said the fishermen were unaware how the government would operate the service. "We do not know whether it will pass through the international shipping line or along the coast," he said.

If the high-speed boat operates along the coast it will destroy nets and damage fishing vessels, he said, and added that the government should have conducted a study to gauge the ill-effects before putting money into the tourism venture.

Peter is also unsure whether the government had gone into the service's technical feasibility.

Ordinary fishermen see it as a luxury the state cannot afford. "How can a government that has no money to provide adequate kerosene to fishermen to operate crafts think of such a luxury?" asked Varghese. The coastal areas are in the grip of poverty, he added. The high-speed boat service will add to their woes, he said.

Even technical experts are unsure about the service's feasibility.

The service is a dream project of Nayanar, who had mooted it in Kerala after he saw it operate abroad.

The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation first entrusted with the project, dropped out after it failed to find a partner to implement it. The government then appointed the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation Limited as the nodal agency.

The agency's first tender inviting bids for the project drew a blank. The second round a few months back drew four bidders and Asmacs, an Indian agent of a Ukraine-based company, emerged top.

The government has sanctioned Rs10 million to the corporation to offset initial losses it may incur as a result of failure on the government's part to meet its commitments like ensuring passenger capacity for trips. The company will have to lease the craft and set up infrastructure, too.

However, the project has not received clearance from the director general of shipping, due to safety concerns. Officials are apprehensive about securing clearance as no comprehensive study has been conducted into various aspects, including safety.

Experts from the United Kingdom, engaged by KSIDC to make an on-the-spot study, abandoned it midway, following problems.

Though Arthur Anderson subsequently completed the study, there are doubts about its reliability as the consultant had complained of lack of inputs for conducting the study.

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