Boat owners must ensure worker health checks at Cutbona jetty

Margao: In a move to contain the cholera outbreak at Cutbona jetty, boat owners will now be legally required to ensure regular health screening and testing of their workers. South Goa district collector Egna Cleetus gave instructions to that effect at a meeting held on Friday with senior officials.The panchayat has been directed to fence the affected area with barbed wire, while Goa Human Resource Development Corporation (GHRDC) staff will implement strict security arrangements to control access. The health department has been asked to launch awareness programmes targeting workers on cholera prevention, symptoms, and precautions.Fishing trawler workers will receive free sanitation-related services to maintain hygiene standards and prevent disease transmission.

The Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) has been tasked to set proper garbage collection, processing, and disposal systems in the area. Police have been asked to conduct regular checks on health cards issued to workers.Cleetus directed all departments concerned and officials to strictly adhere to the measures decided. Additional collector-I and II, deputy collector and sub-divisional magistrate Salcete I & II, mamlatdar of Salcete, along with officials from the police department, health department, and fisheries department attended the meeting.

The meeting follows a high-level meeting earlier this week when fisheries secretary Prasanna Acharya assured that resolving the health crisis at the Cutbona jetty was govt’s priority and promised comprehensive action to tackle the issues.