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Fishermen demand govt to double relief amount, write off Mudra loans
Fishermen from Nagapattinam district met the Fisheries minister D Jayakumar at the Secretariat on Monday and demanded to increase the relief sanctioned for the damaged boats and the loss suffered by them.
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Chennai
During a meeting with the Minister, one of the fishermen representatives informed Jayakumar that, “The relief fund announced for fishermen for the damaged boats and fishing equipment is based on the Disaster Management Act of 2005 and the state government need to double the amount for them to overcome the loss caused by Gaja.”
Fishermen and their representatives also presented memoranda highlighting their demands. The key demand of the fishermen was that the state government should write-off the loans that they had obtained under the Mudra scheme.
Jayakumar immediately asked GS Sameeran, Director, Fisheries department, for the details of the loans obtained. Sameeran replied that Nagapattinam fishermen had obtained Rs 2 crore under the scheme. Subsequently, Jayakumar assured the fishermen that state government would decide on the issue and asked them to resume fishing and to look after their livelihood.
Later addressing the media, the Minister said that state government allotted Rs 41 crore for fisheries department for rehabilitation work, but the demands of the fishermen to double the compensation amount for the damaged boats and fishing equipment could be done only utilising the state disaster relief fund and for this the approval of the Centre should be obtained.
He added that the fisheries department was looking at alternate livelihood for fishermen like cage culture, prawn culture, growing ornamental fishes and others. He further said that cyclone Gaja had thrown several for more than 100 metres and the department had deployed cranes and other heavy equipment to bring them back their original locations.
Boats battered
Damage in 4 costal districts: Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur and Pudukkottai
Country boats:
- Partially damaged - 2,942
- Fully damaged - 877
Mechanised boats:
- Partially damaged - 1,429
- Fully damaged - 195
Catamaran:
- Partially damaged - 164
- Fully damaged - 55
- Total engines damaged - 6,157
- Total nets damaged - 10,648
Pay Rs 25,000 per acre, seek shallot growers of Tiruchy
Tiruchy: A section of farmers from Thuraiyur who cultivated shallots complained that over 500 acres of crops in their area were affected by a disease and lost the entire crops and besieged the district Collectorate here on Monday for compensation after proper assessment. The farmers led by P Viswanathan, state president of the Tamil Nadu Lake and River Irrigation Farmers Association brought the damaged crops to the district Collectoctorate and staged a protest demanding Rs 25,000 per acre. When they approached the officials, they were told the agri department had a fungicide but the farmers did not approach. Farmers asked that the Collector to inspect the damages and disburse compensations.
Relief for coconut trees not in proportion to loss: Farmers
Tiruchy: Coconut farmers, who lost their crops to the cyclone Gaja, took out a mega rally and staged a protest in Pattukottai town in Thanjavur district on Monday demanding a compensation of Rs 20,000 per tree claiming that the compensation announced by the state government was not in proportion the loss suffered. Following the loss, the state declared a compensation of Rs 1,100 per tree. Since there was no sign of augmenting the compensation, the farmers took out a rally from Pattukkottai bus stand and reached the RDO office Pattukottai, where they staged a protest. CPI senior leader R Nallakannu inaugurated the rally and presided over the protest.
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