The Kerala Swatantra Matsyathozhilali Federation has said that the Union Budget has let the fishers down.
Federation president Jackson Pollayil told reporters here on Tuesday that the budget neglected them, denying their pleas for subsidy on kerosene and diesel and a waiver of their debts. Their call for a cut in the Goods and Services Tax levied on fishing equipment and compensation to those affected by natural disasters was also neglected, he said.
Mr. Pollayil called for steps to prevent foreign fishing vessels from fishing in Indian waters as well as a ban on pair and bull trawling. He said pair trawling was the reason for low catch in the Malabar coast of late.
“You call us your heroes, the army of Kerala, and treat us like zeroes,” said National Fish Workers’ Forum general secretary T. Peter. Blaming unscientific construction of breakwaters for sea erosion, he said even rocks and geotubes laid on the shores had not been able to effectively tackle sea erosion. “The methods used should be altered based on the geography of the place,” he added.
The union leaders said the greed of some merchants was behind chemically-contaminated fish in the market and called for an inquiry into the matter and appropriate punitive measures.
Flood relief
Meanwhile, Cherupurakkal Sharafudeen, a fisherman from Chaliyam, whose fishing boat was destroyed during the floods last year, said he had incurred a loss of over ₹1 lakh, but the government had sanctioned only ₹9,000. Federation secretary Abdul Rasik said the compensation for boats damaged during the rescue operations were sanctioned only two weeks ago.
The leaders of the two organisations plan to meet the Union Fisheries Minister to highlight the issues faced by the traditional fishing community.
Published - July 10, 2019 01:04 am IST
