A college will be started under Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) in Kollam to ensure higher education for children from fisher families, Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian on Friday said. He was inaugurating Theera Sadasu, the public interaction programme to address the problems and grievances of the coastal community, at Eravipuram constituency. “There will be special intervention in housing related issues including the construction of homes, maintenance of Tsunami flats and applications related to LIFE Mission. The Coastal Development Corporation has been directed to urgently prepare an estimate of the flats requiring repairs. A meeting chaired by the MLA, including local body officials will be convened for the purpose and a follow-up plan will be prepared,” said the Minister.
At the programme, the Minister assured the fishers that their demands including the establishment of fish marketing centre and waste disposal measures will be considered. “Eravipuram Matsya Bhavan will be operational soon and a report has been sought from the tahsildar regarding the status of Tsunami Hall established in Mayanad.”
While 237 applications were received from the constituency, 131 were settled at the programme. They included applications for compensation, repair of houses in fishermen’s colony and those related to CRZ. The Minister added that a job fair will be held in collaboration with Kerala Development and Innovation Strategy Council (K-DISC) and vacancies will be found. M Naushad, MLA, presided over the function while Mayor Prasanna Ernst, district panchayat president P.K. Gopan, Mukhtala block panchayat president B Yashoda, Mayyanad grama panchayat president J Shahida and District Collector Afsana Parveen were also present.
