Fort Kochi’s Chinese fishing nets repair project to ‘catch’ break

KOCHI: The iconic Chinese fishing nets in Fort Kochi look set to catch a break, with the state government re-initiating steps to repair and renovate the heritage structures.

According to Kochi MLA Mohammed Shiyas, the government has issued an order removing Kerala Industrial and Technology Consultancy Organisation (Kitco) as the implementation agency. The Rs 2.44-crore project, entrusted with Kitco by Kerala Tourism, to renovate 11 iconic Chinese fishing nets in Fort Kochi, had faced severe delays due to bureaucratic red tape, funding transfers and procurement hurdles for teak and Malabar ironwood.

“It has now been decided to hand the work over to the Chinese Net Owners’ Association of Fort Kochi,” the MLA said. The earlier agreement was a tripartite deal signed by the tourism department, the association and Kitco.

“The Chinese Net Owners’ Association was roped in for the project since they had the traditional know-how regarding the construction of the Chinese nets. Now, with Kitco being booted out, the association will implement the project under the supervision of the department,” Shiyas said.

According to K J Sohan, former Kochi mayor and historian, the cantilevered fishing nets, believed to have been introduced on the Kochi shores between 1350 and 1450, have become the hallmark of Fort Kochi on tourist maps.

“The former LDF government had initiated the project to repair the nets. That was 10 years ago. The then government had also earmarked Rs 1.9 crore for the project and entrusted Kitco with the work. The project was mooted under the initiative of then tourism secretary V Venu in 2014,” he said.

However, the owners of the nets got a rude awakening when they were told by Kitco that they will have to find the money for the project. “Once the repairs were carried out, Kitco was to reimburse the amount spent by owners. The owners initiated the work by sourcing loans locally at high interest. But, bureaucratic red tape landed them in dire straits as they were not issued any funds even a year of completing the initial works,” Sohan said.

“Moreover, the logs of wood that had been provided by the forest department for the repair work have now become unusable,” he said.

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