The district administration has decided to provide six acres of land for construction of another fishing harbour in Paradip that can accommodate traditional boats. The Paradip Fishing Harbour lacks basic facilities and is overcrowded. While it has the capacity to accommodate 300 boats, at present 600 boats operate from the jetty. Although the number of mechanised boats has been increasing, the infrastructure has remained the same and there is a growing need for another jetty to accommodate all the boats. The fishing harbour was built in 1996 at a cost of `39 crore and in 2011, the State Government formed a Fishing Harbour Management Committee (FHMC) for its effective administration. However, condition of the harbour and fishing jetty deteriorated due to poor upkeep over the years. Besides, no steps have been taken to dredge the Mahanadi river mouth for safe movement of boats and trawlers from the jetty. The depth of the river mouth is decreasing due to massive siltation, posing threat to trawlers and boats. Odisha Marine Fishermen Association (OMFA) president, Srikanta Kumar Parida had sought the intervention of the Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Department, a wing of the Union Ministry of Agriculture, to initiate steps for expansion of the jetty. After receiving the proposal, Secretary of Animal Husbandry Department, Debendra Chaudhry visited Paradip last month and interacted with Chairman of Paradip Port Trust, Rinkesh Ray, district and fisheries officials and representatives of fishermen association for infrastructure development of the Paradip Fishing Harbour. While Chaudhry assured to look into construction of the new jetty, he had urged the district administration for allocation of land for the purpose. Jagatsinghpur Collector Yamini Sarangi visited the fishing harbour last week and identified land for the new fishing jetty. District Fishery Officer Gayanranjan Samal said since the Revenue Department has no land near the fishing harbour, the administration has decided to get six acres of land from the Paradip Port Trust in exchange of revenue land. After exchange of land between the Trust and Revenue Department, a proposal would be sent to the Union Ministry of Agriculture for allocation of land. After approval, steps would be taken to construct another fishing jetty at a cost of `8 crores. Besides, `20 crores will be spent towards dredging of the river mouth, he added.