Team Herald
PANJIM: Fisheries Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar on Wednesday claimed that the cholera infection at Cutbona jetty was carried by labourers who joined the work at the jetty on August 1, when the fishing season began. Speaking to reporters, he said,” The fishing season started from August 1 so labourers started coming from Karnataka, Bihar and Odisha and they brought the epidemic with them. However, the government ensured that it does not spread to the neighbouring villages.” He, however, said no fresh case of cholera has been reported either from the Cutbona fishing jetty or the fish landing centre at Mobor-Cavelossim during the last 24 hours.
Stating that the boat owners are not responsible for the spread of the epidemic, the Minister said a grace period of five to six months would be given to the boat owners to install toilets on vessels. “The boat owners have told us that they will install toilets on the vessels but sought a time of five to six months because they will have to park the vessels at jetties for a few days,” he said. Harlankar said the SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) issued by the Health Department will not be ignored and they will ensure that
all the workers have health cards.