Operations banned at fishing harbour in Visakhapatnam 

Following the directives of Visakhapatnam District Collector V Vinay Chand (IAS), a ban on the harvesting, auction, and retail marketing of marine products has been imposed at the fishing harbour in the city, on Wednesday. The Visakhapatnam District Fisheries Department will enforce the ban until further notice. 

Reportedly, the officials from the District Fisheries Department held a review meeting with Visakhapatnam City Police, in wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The authorities concluded that it would be difficult to handle the crowd at the fishing harbour and accordingly reported the same to the Collector. Later on, the District Collector issued an indefinite ban on operations at Vizag fishing harbour. 

The annual ban, on fishing on the east coast of the country, usually begins on 15 April midnight for sixty days. The District Fisheries Department has banned all the activities at the fishing harbour in Visakhapatnam, fifteen days prior to the conservation period, due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

It may be noted that the number of coronavirus cases in Andhra Pradesh has been witnessing a spike over the last few days. While Wednesday saw as many as 67 cases being reported, 21 more samples, collected from different parts of the state, tested positive for coronavirus overnight. The count in the state has now soared to 132. With Visakhapatnam registering 11 cases, the district authorities are making efforts to contain the spread of the deadly virus. The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) is carrying out disinfection drives in various locales of the city as a preventive measure. Furthermore, additional rythu bazaars have been set up to curtail crowd congestion and ensure social distancing.