RAMESWARAM: Fishermen of Rameswaram on Thursday wholeheartedly welcomed the maiden Tamil Nadu budget presented by Jayakumar, also fisheries minister, as it sought to seriously address several issues faced by the state’s fishermen.
Fishermen’s representatives led by N. Devadoss, president of the Rameswaram Fishermen’s Association, hailed Jayakumar’s announcement in the state budget for 2017-18, presented in the Assembly in Chennai today, to hike the ceiling for subsidised diesel for mechanised fishing boats to 18,000 litres per year, per boat. This is expected to benefit 1,200 mechaised boats that are now under operation from this island.
The Tamil Nadu government’s announcement of Rs 5 lakh compensation for each of the 18 mechanised boats of Tamil Nadu fishermen seized by Sri Lankan Navy and released but had got sunk in the sea in recent years, has also come as a huge relief for the fisher-folks here. “We are extremely happy with this compensation which we have been demanding for years,” said one of the fishermen here.
They also welcomed the hike in the amount received by each fisherman from the national relief fund from Rs 2, 500 to Rs 4, 500.
However, considering the frequent increase in the price of diesel, Mr Devadoss and other fishermen’s representatives expressed the hope that the government would further enhance the ceiling for subsidised diesel to mechanised boats to the level of 30,000 litres per boat, per year.
