KFHA to ban transport of trash fish in open trucks to cut down on unhygienic conditions

KARACHI: Karachi Fish Harbour Authority (KFHA) is planning to ban the transportation of trash fish in open trucks from Karachi fish harbour and has asked the suppliers to take the sea route for all such supplies in the future.

“About 40 percent of unhygienic condition of the harbour will reduce with the start supply of trash fish through sea in order to comply with the EU’s quality and cleanliness specifications at the harbour,” Managing Director, KFHA, Abdul Ghani Jokhio told Business Recorder on Tuesday.

The plan is also aimed at improving the harbour’s outlook, as scores of loaded trucks with tons of trash is creating bad smell and giving dirty look to the already untidy seaport, he said, adding the authority also plans to soon undertake the navigational channel cleanliness as part of the programme to shine the Red-Zone area.

He said the authority was also engaged in talks with the government for the release of Rs4 billion funds to I initiate the Master Plan to improve the harbour’s look altogether. He said the authority had also a plan to set up a shrimp peeling plant which would help the nation earn foreign exchange for the country and it would also help reduce the filth level there.

“The peeling plant will also spur the economic activities and open new doors for jobs and business,” he said, adding that while dredging of harbour channel would also increase fishing boats traffic and reduce congestions there.

According to the KFHA officials, there are about 38 boats which had been parked inside the harbour navigational channel which owners had to pay at least Rs2.6 million to the authority. “If the owners did not pay their dues by the deadline then their boats will be auctioned,” they said.

There already dozens of idle boats standing inside the channel whose owners had also been sent notices to drive their vessels out of the channel so that space for active boat could be made to improve the traffic.

The officials said there were over 100 boats parked inside the channel and of them about 32 vessels which owners were unknown, adding that the authority would confiscate them if were not driven out in the specified period of seven days and auction them.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2011