The Juvvaladinne Fishing Harbour in Nellore district, built during the YSRCP government under Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy for the welfare of coastal fishermen, is at the centre of a political and livelihood controversy. The current TDP-led coalition government is accused of moving to hand over 29 acres out of the 70-acre harbour area to a private company Sagar Defence Engineering Limited, instead of making the harbour fully operational for fishermen.
The Juvvaladinne harbour was conceived after Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s famous padayatra, during which he directly heard the grievances of fishermen communities across Andhra Pradesh’s coastline. Following this, the YSRCP government sanctioned 10 fishing harbours and 6 jetties across the state. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic causing delays, most were nearing completion by the time the YSRCP government ended in June 2024.The harbour contains cold storage units, amenities like ice plant, fuel pumping stations, boat repair workshops, and other essential infrastructure for fishermen.
YS Jagan sanctioned this harbour so that fishermen could conduct their business activities comfortably and get proper prices for their catch. He resolved that fishermen families should receive the maximum benefit from their hard work. This harbour was built so fishermen could independently manage their marketing, processing, cold storage, boat servicing, and packing activities.
The Juvvaladinne Fishing Harbour is designed to accommodate a fleet size of 1250 fishing vessels to handle a fish catch of 41250 metric tonnes annually with net floor area of 41,250 sq ft. constructed at cost of ₹289 Cr. The harbour contains cold storage units, amenities like ice plant, fuel pumping stations, boat repair workshops, and other essential infrastructure for fishermen.
The TDP-led coalition government plans to allocate 29 of the 70 harbour acres to Sagar Defence Engineering Limited, a private company, under the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) model. Minister Nara Lokesh has already laid the foundation for the project at the site. Despite the harbour being inaugurated, fishermen have reportedly not been allowed to use it. The combination of non-operationalisation and private allocation means the fishermen for whom it was built remain locked out.
Why were defence-related industries being placed within a fishing harbour zone when alternative locations such as the shipbuilding cluster near Dugarajapatnam or Krishnapatnam Port could be used? YSRCP has clarified that they are not opposed to companies operating in coastal areas but strongly object to harbour land built with public funds specifically for fishermen being given away to a private defence firm.
Former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is scheduled to visit Juvvaladinne on April 15, and YSRCP leaders have already inspected the helipad site in preparation. The visit is intended to highlight the harbour issue and galvanise fishermen’s support.
This is part of a systematic policy of privatising public assets, such as roads, ports, hospitals, irrigation projects, and government medical colleges. Now extended to fishing harbours, which are critical livelihood infrastructure for coastal communities.
