The Maharashtra Fisheries Development Corporation (MFDC) is proposing to reclaim just over 19 hectares of land from the sea at Versova Beach, for setting up a fishing harbour under the Centre’s Sagarmala initiative, Hindustan Times reports.
This will be done by dredging up 5,29,548 cubic metres of sand from the intertidal area and using it within the site, and supplementing this with another 3,51,837 cubic metres of material sourced from elsewhere.
For comparison, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC’s) Coastal Road project in South Mumbai has reclaimed 111 Ha. of land.
The reclamation work is largely for the construction of two breakwaters that will jut out more than a 1km into the sea.
According to HT, the area between the breakwater will act as a basin for boats, around 13.5 hectares in area, and will be able to service a fleet of 900 vessels, including 500 trawlers and 400 bag or gill-net fishing vessels.
The harbour development at Versova is projected to directly benefit 6,140 fishermen and about 2,500 allied workers dealing with the distribution of the catch.