Nellore MP urges Centre to sanction fishing jetty in Vidavalur to ease local fisherman’s struggles

Nellore MP seeks support for fishermen, urges Central government for fishing jetty and subsidy modifications for OBC beneficiaries.

Nellore MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy on Tuesday met Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy, Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh), at his residence in New Delhi on Tuesday and put forth several issues facing the fishermen of Nellore district.

He urged the Central government to sanction a fishing jetty at Ponnapudi Pathur village in Vidavalur mandal of the district. “Pyderu creek, which is used as a channel for fishing boats to enter the sea, has been facing severe challenges due to the complete silting up at the sea mouth. As a result, the fishermen from seven habitations in the Ramachandrapuram gram panchayat of Vidavalur mandal are enduring immense hardship in trying to enter the sea.”

“There is an urgent need for the construction of a fishing jetty at Ponnapudi Pathuru village to provide berthing facilities for the 370 boats operating in the region. It will not only safeguard the boats during cyclones but also provide a secured area for unloading fish landings. It will directly benefit 6,000 fishermen from 1,750 families living in 12 habitations along the Pyderu creek,” he explained. He also proposed dredging and revetment work on both sides of the creek.

He further requested to modify the unit cost and subsidy to OBC beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), a scheme to support the acquisition of deep sea fishing vessels to uplift the financial status of the fishing community.

“Currently, the unit cost of deep sea fishing vessels stands at ₹120 lakh, the subsidy for SCs and STs is ₹72 lakh (60%) and ₹48 lakh (40%) for OBCs. Many traditional fishermen are eager to upgrade their vessels for better productivity and income. However, the cost of the vessels is beyond their financial reach.” he said.

Though Juvvaladinne Fishing Harbour was inaugurated in Bogole mandal recently, there are no sufficient deep sea fishing boats to utilise this harbour. Nellore District Collector has instructed to organise Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) for arranging funds from banks. But, the fishermen are requesting medium sized boats at a cost of ₹60 lakh, for easy maintenance and low cost.