Coast conservation officials visit Vadamarachchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 November 2003, 20:26 GMT]
A team of Coast Conservation Department officials including an engineer Wednesday visited the coastal areas of Vadamadarachchi in the Jaffna district on the instructions of the Prime Minister's office amid agitation by fisheries societies that they should be allowed to deepen the fisheries landing points that had been neglected for the last two decades, official sources said.

The Sri Lanka Army, which earlier refused permission to fisheries societies to deepen twenty seven fishing landing points along the coast from Munai area in Point Pedro to Thondamanaru, citing security, now has given another reason for denying permission: such deepening of landing points would cause sea erosion, sources said.

Hence the Prime Minister's office has directed the Coast Conservation Department to do an on the spot survey of the northern coastal area and to submit a full report, sources said.

However, members of the Coastal Conservation Department team said deepening of fishing landing points would not lead to sea erosion. They further said that they would be submitting a comprehensive report to the office of the Prime Minister with recommendation to deepen landing points, fisheries sources said.

The team visited the area in the company of members of fisheries societies and officials of the Jaffna district fisheries and aquatic resources department, sources said.