Issues in fishing sector will be solved: Minister

The State government will give top priority to solve the issues of the fishing community, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has said.

He was presenting the State-level Matsyashree awards to the best performers in the fisheries sector. He said issues pertaining to ‘‘awarding pattayams to fisher folk, anomalies in the present CRZ norms and drinking water crisis will be addressed on priority basis.’’

Matsyashree awards carrying Rs.1 lakh in cash and a citation were presented to Mary Matha group in Thiruvananthapuram and Gokulam group in Thrissur. The second prize, carrying Rs.50,000 and a citation was awarded to Anthony Das group in Thiruvananthapuram, while the third prize carrying Rs.25,000 and a citation was given to Shibi-Stella group, Kollam.

Scholarships

K.C. Venugopal, MP, distributed scholarships for meritorious students belonging to the fishermen community. Accident insurance claim for fishermen, death insurance benefit, and financial assistance from the chairman of Disaster Relief Fund were also disbursed. Matsyafed chairman V. Dinakaran presided. over the function.