08 Dec 2010 04:04:56 AM IST
THOOTHUKUDI: “Fishermen are the first in the State to get metrological warnings, but it is ironical that they have been forgotten in the recent assessment of rain-related damage carried out by monitoring officers appointed by the government,” said M Pushparayan, convener of Coastal People Federation (CPF), which has a strong presence in the coastal districts of Thoothukudi, Ramanathapuram, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari.
He told Express that the attitude of the State was incomprehensible and alleged that though the coastal villages were the worst affected, remedial measures have not been initiated so far.
“This summer, around 339 fishing boats were damaged in a gale and even though the government sanctioned `51.90 lakh, it has not been disbursed so far,” Pushparayan pointed out.
C Parthiban, President of Fishermen Labour’s Association, said that due to the inclement weather, fishing has been stalled for more than four days and added that many families were almost on the verge of starvation.
“However, some desperate fishermen braving the rough seas set out for fishing to provide succour to their families,” he said.
“Why is the government indifferent, even though fishing was stalled for more than four days,” he asked.
According to Pushparayan, apart from the two mechanised fishing vessels, which sank in mid-sea recently, many fishermen have lost their fishing nets. “But these losses and damages were not taken into account in the recent assessment,” he lamented. Another fisherman Siluvai pointed out that dry fish processing has been adversely affected, resulting in a heavy loss.
It may be noted that mostly fisherwomen engage in dry fish processing, which provided an additional income. “Due to the rain, dry fish which was being processed, has rot and become useless,” he said, adding, “the fisherwomen have been deprived of their only livelihood.”
K Ponraj, state vice-president of Confederation of Tamil Nadu Fish Workers Union, told Express that the demand for compensation by fishermen was fully justified as fishing and related activities have been stalled over the past four days.
“The woes of fishermen should be taken into account and appropriate relief measures should be disbursed”, he demanded.
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