The Fisheries Department will begin enumeration of the fisherfolk affected by the annual fishing ban for sanction of financial aid. The ban comes into force from the midnight of April 14 (Saturday).
In an official release, Krishna district fisheries joint director M.A. Yakub Basha appealed to the fisherfolk to get their names registered for receiving the compensation of ₹4,000 per month for each family.
“A team of officials will register the names of the affected fisherfolk at the boat landing points across the State on April 17, 18 and 19,” he said. The ration card, Aadhaar and bank account details were required for the registration. According to the Andhra Pradesh Marine Fishing (Regulation) Act 1994, fishing on mechanised and engine boats is banned between April 15 and June 14, to ensure safe breeding of marine species, particularly prawn.
Protest planned
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Matsakara Sangham (APMS) State president K. Srinivasa Rao accused the State government of considering barely 60,000 fisherfolk for the compensation while ignoring around five lakh other people who were associated with fishing and were affected by the ban in the State. “The compensation of ₹4,000 per family is not enough. Also, compensation should be paid before the ban commences,” he said.
Delay in releasing the financial assistance for the year 2017 and excluding women fish sellers from the benefit were the other issues being raised by the APMS.
The APMSplanned to stage a relay hunger strike between April 26 and 30 in all the mandal headquarters highlighting its demands.
