Activist and Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar will flag off a boat rally from Mangaluru to Thiruvananthapuram aimed at protection of sea, coast, inland water bodies and fisheries resources on November 21.
National Fishworkers Forum secretary T. Peter and its vice-president Vasudev Boloor told presspersons here on Wednesday that the rally was being organised in association with fishworkers’ bodies in Karnataka and Kerala.
The campaign will witness a series of public meetings along the west coast, culminating in a national conference in Thiruvananthapuram on November 30.
Promises not keptMr. Boloor said as Prime Minister Narendra Modi had, before the Lok Sabha elections, promised a lot to the fishing community, including consideration of creation of a separate Ministry for Fisheries, but the first budget of the NDA government was a total disappointment for the sector.
Mr. Peter said coastal areas were being given to tourism and power industries while the rights of the fisherfolk were being curtailed.
Foreign vessels were being allowed to fish in Indian waters, adversely affecting the interests of local fishing communities.
No joint fishingThe government should reject the recommendations of an expert committee to allow joint ventures with foreign vessels to fish in Buffer Zone (where sea water is 200 ft to 300 ft deep). Instead, Indian fishing community should be encouraged to operate in the zone adopting modern technology, he said.
Mr. Boloor said a march to New Delhi would be organised later to pressurise the Union government to heed to the demands of fishermen.
He sought measures to ensure that boat owners got adequate supply of subsidised kerosene with road tax exempted.
No boat owner was able to receive subsidised kerosene because it was reserved for the below poverty line card holders. “Tell me, will a mechanised boat owner have a BPL card?” he said.
