With the 45-day statutory ban coming to an end on Tuesday, Chief Minister N. Rangasamy on Sunday participated in special prayers conducted by fishermen at the Thengaitittu fishing harbour here .
He wished them luck and promised all support from the government.
According to Director of Fisheries G. Ramalakshmi, the ban, intended to conserve fishery resources during the fish breeding season, was successfully implemented with mechanised boats being barred from fishing over the last 43 days.
She said that the fisher-folk utilised the period for “re-activation,” which involved repairing and painting their boats.
Boat owners were given funds to carry out the work.
On compensation for fishermen during the ban period, Ms. Ramalakshmi said a sum of Rs. 2,750 was announced to each of the registered fishing families in the Union Territory.
This included over 12,200 families in Puducherry and about 3,500 families in the Karaikal region.
Ms. Ramalakshmi said that a total of Rs. 5.69 crore was sanctioned by the territorial government for the purpose and, barring a few hundred families which were not present in the Union Territory during the period, the compensation had been provided to all other families.
On supply of diesel for fishing boats to resume their activities, she said fuel would be provided from Monday. “We are distributing fuel a day earlier to avoid crowding and delay during supply on Tuesday,” she said.
