Fishers seek aid from govt. as kerosene price soars

The price of the fuel has gone up by ₹22 a litre

Traditional fishers have appealed to the State government to intervene to make kerosene available at affordable rate, even as the price of the fuel went up by ₹22 a litre two days ago.

The price hike has hit traditional fishers the most, said Charles George, president of Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedhi here. He said what had kept traditional fishers in business even during the lean season was the subsidy offered on kerosene. Even while there was a general hike in the price of kerosene, the fishing community was given a subsidy in the past. But there is now a lot of anxiety among the community whether kerosene would be available at the subsidised rate of ₹62.57 a litre.

The fishing community is hoping that kerosene will be supplied to fishers at the rate prevailing in January this year as promised by Minister for Food and Civil supplies G.R. Anil.

Fishing boats with 9.9 HP engines are given 129 litres of kerosene at subsidised rate. Boats with engines of 20 HP are given 179 litres at a subsidised rate every month. However, a boat needs an average of 2,000 litres of kerosene a month, and the subsidised kerosene is not sufficient even for a day’s fishing.

Fishers are in dire straits because during the lean season between March and May when the seawater heats up, they are forced to travel more distance to catch fish. They are now compelled to buy kerosene from the open market. It is under these circumstances that the price of the fuel has been raised from ₹104 a litre to ₹123.

It is estimated that there are around 32,000 traditional fishing boats operating off the coast of Kerala, and they need around three lakh litres of kerosene a year. The government has, however, granted permission to 14,566 boats, and they need around 12,000 litres a month. But the total availability of subsidised kerosene in a month for these boats is just 2,000 litres, Mr. George said.

The fishing sector should be given subsidised fuel, and the Union government must come forward to help it, he said and appealed to the State government to keep its budget promise of providing kerosene at ₹25 a litre. Mr. George claimed that the LDF government had also promised kerosene at ₹25 per litre for the fishing community.