State to build 20K houses for fishing community

The Kerala government is planning to build 20,000 houses for the fishing community in the state as part of its coastal area development initiatives, said K Babu, fisheries, ports and excise minister.

The government has already constructed 6,573 houses at a cost of Rs 2 lakh each in the coastal areas, of which 1,049 houses were built in Thiruvananthapuram alone. The project is being implemented by the Kerala State Coastal Area Development Corporation (KSCADC).

The government will build 15 in-patient blocks for hospitals in the coastal regions at a total cost of Rs 25 crore with an aim to improve primary healthcare facilities for the fishing community. It has also built 2,202 toilets at a cost of Rs 20,000 each in Thiruvananthapuram district.

A total of 54 primary healthcare infrastructure development projects worth Rs 34.89 crore are being implemented in the state under KSCADC. Under this, KSCADC will implement nine projects in Thiruvananthapur-am district at a total cost of Rs 9.81 crore. Of this, two projects - a new block at the community health centre in Anchuthengu and the new in-patient block at the Veli hospital-have been completed.

The upcoming modernised fish market at Kazhakkoottam, to be built with Rs 2.32 crore, is part of a chain of 52 modern hygienic fish markets that KSCADC is setting up with support from the National Fisheries Development Board .