GWADAR: The Gwadar Fishermen Alliance has announced plans to launch a jail bharo movement if the construction work of a breakwater on the Eastbay is not launched up to Jan 10.

The local fishing community has suffered huge losses as massive sea tide on Thursday hit the Gwadar coastline and destroyed a large number of fishing vessels. Had a breakwater been built on the Eastbay, it would have prevented or at least minimised the losses, the fishermen believe.

The fishermen took out a protest rally in the coastal townon Friday while chanting slogans against the Gwadar Development Authority (GDA) and the Gwadar Port Authority (GPA).

Speaking to them, the president of the Alliance, Khuda-i-Dad Waju, and other leaders blamed the GDA and GPA’s negligence for delay in starting work on the breakwater.

They said that planning authorities could reduce the damage caused by natural disasters by sustainable or alternative planning, but the horrendous tide that wrecked havoc on fishing boats on Thursday was the result of a serious mistake by the federal and provincial bodies.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2020