Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) general secretary Vaiko on Sunday urged the State government to formulate an assured job scheme for fishermen during the annual 45-day fishing ban period and pay them Rs.100 a day.
In a statement, he said that the relief assistance provided by the State government during the ban period of 45 days to the families of crew/labourers on fishing boats was not sufficient. Instead of providing relief based on family cards, the government should take into account their registration in fishermen's cooperative societies and fisherwomen who made a living by selling fish.
The government has imposed a ban on fishing from April 15 to May 29 off the east coast and from June 15 to July 29 off the west coast to conserve fishery resources during the fish breeding season.
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During this period, strict vigil should be maintained to ensure that fishing trawlers run by transnational firms did not violate the ban and it was also essential for the State and Central governments to protect the lives of Tamil fishermen, he said.