Thejaswi U Poojary

Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi

Udupi, Jun 30: Fisherwomen in Kornagrapady have made an appeal to the Alevoor gram panchayat for construction of a fish market. Due to lack of land, the gram panchayat (GP) has failed to construct the same.

As many as eight fisherwomen in Kornagrapady, from 15 years, sell fish on the roadside. As the place is a junction area, people standing on the road to buy fish, are a hindrance for smooth vehicle traffic and that causes a problem to the fisherwomen as well. During the monsoon, the fisherwomen are not able to sell fish as there is no shelter to protect them from rain. The fisherwomen had placed a request for the construction of a market 2-3 years ago.

Speaking to media, one of the fisherwomen said, “Selling fish is the only way to earn our livelihood. During monsoon, it is very difficult to sell fish on the roadside due to lack of shelter here. We had placed our request before the gram panchayat and our association. They informed us that a building will be constructed, but nothing has been done till now. During summer due to extreme heat, I got severe headache and could not sell fish for 15 days, which affected by family.”

But the gram panchayat officials are facing non-availability of government land in the area.

Speaking to Daijiworld.com, Dayanand Bennoor, PDO Alevoor gram panchayat said, “The fisherwomen in Kornagrapady are selling fish on the roadside. We tried a lot to construct a fish market in Kornagrapady, but due to the lack of a proper location, we could not go ahead. There is no government site in Kornagrapady junction. If we get a place, then Alevoor gram panchayat is ready to construct a fish market using the government fund or through other funds. We already made a location check, to spot any old government abandoned buildings, but could not find any. Hence for now, we are not able to construct a fish market here. In future, if we find any place, we will definitely go ahead.”

Sudhakar Poojary, vice president of Alevoor gram panchayat said, “We received an appeal for the construction of the fish market. We held a meeting and finalized a place for construction, but when we visited the spot we got to know that it is under the PWD road margin. Right behind that, there was a place which comes under Udupi municipality. We approached them, but failed again as that area was under a stay order. They said that if we show a place for construction of market, they will help us out.”