Demanding that the fishermen be paid royalty by the oil companies and other industrial units that were contributing to the drop in fishing catch, chairman of the National Association of Fishermen Gajendra Bhanji on Monday said a new law should be enacted by the Parliament to this affect to protect the interests of the fishermen.
Addressing a press conference along with the State president of Fisherwomen Empowerment Association K. Padmasri and other leaders from the community here, Dr. Gajendra said the risk involved in deep sea fishing being undertaken by the traditional fishermen must be acknowledged by the government.
“Though the Central government has announced a good number of welfare schemes for the benefit of weaker sections including the fishermen, most of those schemes are not reaching the end users due to the procedures involved in the implementation. The bankers are averting the fishermen from availing loans by citing dubious reasons,” he said. Referring to the drop in catch and absence of marketing facilities along the sea coast to ensure support price to the fishermen, Dr. Gajendra said that the lapses in the system were benefiting the middlemen, while the same were making the lives of fishermen miserable.
Ms. Padmasri highlighted the need for promoting education and empowerment among the fisherwomen and said they were the most vulnerable community. “Though the fishermen are engaged in the most dangerous occupation, they are not getting adequate support from the government. There is an enormous delay in the distribution of ex-gratia to the kin in the event of fishermen’s death in the sea and there is no scope for providing alternative livelihood to those widows,” she said.
