June 15, 2008	Sunday	Jamadi-us-Sani 10, 1429

KARACHI, June 14: Sindh Minister for Fisheries Zahid Ali Bhurgari on Saturday held a meeting with officials of the Karachi Fish Harbour Authority (KFHA) and discussed with them the issue of allotment of land at the harbour.

The minister took a round of different parts of the harbour to inspect the sanitary conditions.

During the meeting, he exchanged views with the officials on administrative and financial matters with reference to the problems being faced by the fishermen community, the Fishermen Cooperative Society (FCS) and other stakeholders.

Regarding the land allotment issue, he directed the KFHA to chalk out details of all the allotments made so far and see whether these allotments were legally valid.

The harbour handles about 90 per cent of the country’s fish and other seafood catch besides managing 95 per cent of the seafood exports. It has a berthing capacity for 600 to 700 fishing boats.

There are 29 fish processing units and a large number of other commercial concerns operating at the harbour. Allotment of the harbour land is handled by the KFHA.

The minister took up the matter of land allotment with the KFHA following complaints received by the provincial government from stakeholders of the fisheries sector. In most of the complaints, it was alleged that the allotments over a certain period had been made unlawfully or in violation of the prescribed rules and regulations.