Visakhapatnam: Shri Poturaju Babu Girijana Matsyakara Sahakara Sangham took up a Jaladiksha protest at Dharmavaram panchayat in Ravikamatham mandal of Anakapalli district on Friday. They complained that they had lost the fishing nets they had placed in Kam Godda Reservoir following the heavy rains and gales that accompanied Cyclone Michaung.
Matsyakara Sahakara Sangham honorary president K. Govinda Rao demanded that the 40 fishermen who had planted the nets must be compensated. “If the authorities do not respond to our Jaladiksha, we will hold a protest at the District Collector's office on Monday,” he stated.
Shri Poturaju Babu Girijana Matsyakara Sahakara Sangham was formed in 2022 to cultivate fish in the Kam Godda Reservoir. The nets that the fishermen had bought with their own money and tied in the reservoir have been lost in the three-day heavy rains and gales in the wake of the cyclone.
Following this, they performed the Jaladiksha seeking financial assistance from the state government for buying new nets.
Further, sangham president Gora Chiranjeevi alleged that due to the negligence of fisheries department officials, they have not received funds allotted under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Yojana Samriddhi Scheme despite giving several petitions.
“Fish eggs have been distributed in all reservoirs of the district under the Pradhan Mantri scheme of the central government. But authorities have done injustice to our reservoir. We have not received any help,” Chiranjeevi complained.
