Port Blair, Mar 23: The fishermen community of Chunna Bhatta met the PCC chief Kuldeep Rai Sharma and described their woe of non availability of ice slabs in time and also at affordable price for which their sea catches either getting damaged or they are deprived of getting actual value of their hard work.
Accordingly the Kuldeep has written a letter to the Lt Governor to consider construction of an ice plant at Chunna Bhatta under Hope town gram Panchayat. He has stated that during the year 1997, a piece of land measuring 500 sq mtr at Chunna Bhatta was allotted to Fisheries Department by the AN Administration for construction of an ice plant for the welfare of the fishermen community which has not yet come up.
Kuldeep has stated that out of a year, the fishermen have to become idle for two to three months due to cyclonic weather and they have to maintain their family members during those idling period from the hard earned money of their rest months of clear weather and become financially weak to purchase ice slabs from the agencies, bringing ice from Port Blair or at other places and selling at a higher rate for which they are not getting appropriate value of their hard work which they do throughout the day and or mid night.
