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Berhampur: The local fishermen in Gopalpur hit streets on Wednesday and protested construction of the proposed Blue Flag Beach at Gopalpur in Ganjam district.
As per reports, hundreds of fishermen sat on dharna on the Gopalpur main road demanding to stop the Blue Flag Beach construction on a particular area of the beach that the fishermen have been using to park their boats and keep fishing nets.
The protestors alleged that if the administration goes ahead with their plan to make it a Blue Flag Beach, the fishermen will lose their livelihood.
Kameswari, a local from the fisherman community said, "We will never vacate this area. This is where we keep all our stuff and set out into the sea. We will lose everything if we are made to leave this place."
"We have been using the beach since ages. Now suddenly the administration wants us to leave the place to construct a park here, which is unacceptable for us," she added.
Similarly, Rama Rao, another fisherman said, "The government is asking us to move from this place without even providing a suitable place for us."
"There is no other place which could help us fish as easily as this place does. The only way out is, if the administration digs up a sea mouth. We will not oppose the developmental projects, but the administration should rehabilitate us first before moving ahead with their plan. If a permanent open mouth is made in the sea, we can access a jetty there through backside of the sea mouth," said Rao.
It is pertinent to mention here that a beach needs to comply with at least 33 pre-requisites to achieve the Blue Flag tag authorised by Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) in Denmark, which include availability of toilets, changing rooms, first aid centres, security for senior citizens, CCTV surveillance, 24×7 security arrangements, parking lots, plastic-free locality and proper waste management system.
The Chandrabhaga beach at Konark became Asia's first beach to get the Blue Flag Accreditation in June, 2018. Later, the Golden Beach of Puri was also accorded the coveted tag.
(Edited By Pradeep Singh)
