Gujarat govt may rope in HPCL for project

In what is a first for the fishing industry in Gujarat, the state government is negotiating with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) to convert mechanised boats running on diesel and petrol to CNG or LPG.

This was revealed by government officials on the sidelines of the inauguration of India's longest fishing harbour jetty at Jakhau.

Inaugurated by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the jetty has a length of 1,260 m, with 950 m berthing facility and 310 m sitting facility. The harbour jetty will allow anchoring of 300 fishing boats at a time and has a capacity to serve 1,000 fishing boats at any given time in rotation of three days.

Modi, who inaugurated the jetty said that the development of ports has become an essential part of globalisation and if Gujarat wants to match global standards, it has to concentrate on growth through ports and port-based infrastructure growth.

He said that the new facility will allow storage and processing of fish, for which they had to be transported to Porbandar earlier.

Emphasising on bringing more technology into the fishing industry, he said that the government will soon come out with a hi-tech communication system which would be installed on every boat in Gujarat so that the authorities and the fisherman will be able to communicate without any hassle.

He also spoke of a project being looked into by the government wherein a satellite-guided system will enable fishermen to identify fish catch areas, thereby saving on fuel cost in search expeditions.

Modi criticised the Centre for slapping a cess on mini cargo traffic that constitute 80 per cent of the trade which will earn Rs 500 crore for the Centre, but not a single rupee will be given to Gujarat.

He added that the Centre had failed to curb the victimisation of Indian fisherman on border shores and that the Pakistan Marine Agency's nabbing of Indian fishermen was hampering the growth of the fishing industry in Gujarat.

Owing to the flow of the Sindhu river at a creek near Jakhau, it has turned into a major fishing area with plenty of lobsters, prawns and shrimp which is attracting a lot of fishermen. It is also turning into a major security concern for officials who are now banking on technology.

"With Jakhau situated close to Pakistan and the international marine borderline, we are geared up with hi-tech devices to intercept fishing boats and in the process protect them on the border waters," A Vishwanath, Commandand Coast Guard - Gujarat, told Business Standard.