Ridma DISSANAYAKE
The Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Ministry has spent Rs 855 million, with foreign investments, loan schemes and donations for the development of the fisheries sector in the Northern and Eastern provinces.
As the first step of the development programme in fisheries in the Northern province, the ministry established the first District Office of the Fisheries Department in Jaffna.
The ministry had spent Rs 22.6 million under the guidance of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Dr. Rajitha Senarathne.
Simultaneously, the minister had distributed boats, canoes, boxes, bicycles and equipment essential in the fisheries industry among the fisheries community in the North. The ministry had spent Rs 18 million for this purpose.
In addition, the minister granted loans to 200 fishermen and each received Rs 100,000 through this programme.
Re-construction of the Gurunagar Jetty had also commenced and Minister Senarathne made a decision to recruit youths only to fill the vacancies in the fisheries sector in the North and East provinces.
The Fisheries Ministry had spent around Rs 50 million with assistance from the Post-Tsunami Coastal Rehabilitation and Resource Management Programme under purview of the International Funds for Agricultural Development (IFAD), to provide fishery vessels, equipment and loans for the fishery community in Mullaitivu, Vavuniya and Kilinochchi districts. The Fish Landing Centres Development project governed by the Food and Agricultural Organization had spent Rs 45.3 million for the development of the Mailajudirippu, Kallapadu and Silavathai fish landing centres in Mullaitivu.
Rs 52.8 million had been spent for the development activities in 11 fish landing centres in Mannar, Batticaloa and Ampara districts and all infrastructure facilities have also been completed.
Around Rs 30 million was spent for the development activities of five fish landing centres in the Trincomalee district and to provide motor bikes, computers and other modern technical equipment for the fishery offices in the Jaffna, Mannar, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Kalmunai, Batticaloa, Ampara and Trincomalee districts.
The Post- Tsunami Coastal Rehabilitation and Resource Management Programme had allocated Rs 94 million to build a wholesale fish trade centre in the Trincomalee district and construction is underway on the instructions of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Deputy Minister Susantha Punchinilame.
Around Rs 37 million had been spent by the Fisheries Ministry with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the development activities in Kanthankundiya fish landing centre and the District Fishery Office in the Batticaloa district.
A large number of development programmes in the fisheries sector have been implemented by the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Ministry islandwide and all these development projects are to be completed by the end of next year.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/03/31/news45.asp
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