Auction hall at Kasimedu harbour a showpiece?

The project, which began on December 14, 2011, had a construction period of 18 months. Locals said that though the project was completed, the new auction hall is yet to be of some use to the public. This has inconvenienced the auctioneers. 

The fish auctions are now being done in two locations - the primary and secondary auction halls which are in the open in the harbour premises.  Though the project was completed in 2013, locals were at a loss to understand why the halls were not put to public use. The locals say that they feel sorry to see the new premises gathering dust and rust. 

Officials, when asked about why such a good facility was not put to good use, were initially shocked. They said they were actually unaware that the auction shed was locked. Finally, after checking they explained that the auction shed continues to be locked as local fishermen feel it is far from the fish landing site.  

A local fisherman said, “We have to auction the fish as soon as it reaches the shore as otherwise it gets spoilt. The new auction shed is located far away from the landing site of the fishing boats.” 

Officials explained that they are now planning to convert the facility into a place to auction high end, export quality fish. 

No one knows why the fishermen as stakeholders were not consulted before putting up the facility and why they were not encouraged to use it. But the question remains as to why a multi-crore government facility remains locked for three years benefiting no one.