The two-day-long whirlwind tour to Kochi and Thrissur by Prime Minister Narendra Modi culminated on Wednesday afternoon with Kerala receiving the country’s biggest Dry Dock facility, valued at Rs 1,799 crore, a Ship Repair and Overhauling unit (at an investment of Rs 970 crore), and an import centre for liquefied petroleum gas built at a cost of Rs 1,236 crore. Dedicating these three facilities to the nation, Prime Minister Modi disclosed that these projects would generate 4,000 direct jobs and almost twice that number of indirect jobs.
“We are on our way to reclaim our position as the country with the highest global Gross Domestic Product. Bharat will soon emerge as the centre of global trade. We will be rated as the global Maritime Power thanks to the projects dedicated to the nation, as well as the fast progress underway under the Sagar Mala Schemes,” said Modi.
The Prime Minister announced that these three projects would set the tone for the development of the country’s southern region. “The capacity of Cochin Shipyard Ltd will increase manifold in the next few years. Major reforms initiated by our government since 2014 have led to an increase in the volume of shipping as well as ease of doing business. More investments are on the anvil, and this would, in turn, generate more employment opportunities,” said the Prime Minister.
Quoting data and statistics from various sources, the Prime Minister said there has been a 140 per cent increase in the number of seafarers from the country. “Our ports have emerged as the ones with the fastest loading and unloading facilities, and this has attracted many shipping companies that used to make use of ports in other countries,” he said.
Elaborating on the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (a scheme to bring about the Blue Revolution through sustainable and responsible development of the fisheries sector in the country), Modi said the project has revolutionised the coastal economy. “It has helped not only the small-scale fishermen but also those engaged in deep-sea fishing,” said Modi. The Prime Minister mentioned that the shipbuilding and repairing facilities in India and the new dry dock facility have started paying rich dividends, “Even foreign vessels are on their way to Kochi because of our efficiency, skill, and quality work. Our own dependence on other countries for shipbuilding and repairing is coming down,” said the Prime Minister. Modi further disclosed that 25 crore persons have been liberated from the shackles of poverty during the last nine years of the BJP rule.
The fishing community can make use of the Kisan Credit Card for availing loans. The Prime Minister said that fish production and the export of seafood have shown a steep hike during the last five years.
Dr TT Ajith Kumar, a senior scientist at National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, told The Pioneer the last six years have seen a tremendous turnaround in the livelihood of the fishing community, thanks to the PM MSY.
“The scheme has started yielding results much earlier than expected because of the enthusiasm shown by the fishers as well as the officials. It is a commendable achievement,” said Dr Ajith.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister worshipped at the Lord Krishna Temple at Guruvayur and the Lord Rama Temple at Thrippayar. He attended the marriage of Bhagya, the daughter of actor Suresh Gopi, and four other couples and blessed them. Before departing from Kochi, Modi addressed the BJP’s Shakti Kendra in-charges numbering 7,000 and complimented them for the good work they were doing as Karyakarthas.
