By IANS,
Gandhinagar: Fishermen in Gujarat have decided to go on an indefinite strike from March 1 to protest government indifference towards their demands.
Manish Lodhari, secretary of the National Fishworkers Forum, said from Porbandar Thursday that for almost six years they have been representing to the central government in support of their demands but have failed to elicit the desired response.
The key demands of the fishermen and fishing boat owners pertain to release of fishermen languishing in Pakistani jails for long as well as the release of their boats.
“Over 500 fishermen are languishing in various Pakistani jails and 434 boats with an estimated combined worth of around Rs.100 crore are in their custody,” he added.
These fishermen have already served jail terms but are still being held in flagrant violation of all human rights norms, he said.
According to Lodhari, a meeting of representatives of various associations of fishermen and fishing boat owners countrywide was held last week at Porbandar under the aegis of the Federation of Indian Fishery Industries wherein it was decided to support the demands of the Gujarat unit.
“A delegation of the national body is camping in Delhi in a last ditch attempt to make the Central government see reason. It will try to call on Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Union Minister Sharad Pawar to once again forcefully put across our point of view but if the centre persists with its myopic stance, we will be left with no option but to go ahead with our agitation plans,” he said.
The fishermen’s body is also demanding a stop to giving fishing licences to Taiwanese trawlers.
“Many trawlers enter Indian waters to fish using zerox copies of the same permit thus violating the law. Additionally, we have no say in the changes being brought about in the Marine Act by the government though we have to bear the brunt of these amendments,” he added.
Lodhari pointed out that several delegations of the National Fishworkers Forum have visited Pakistan for the release of Indian boats but in vain.
“The Pakistanis are regularly auctioning boats seized from us while our own government drags its feet,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Gujarat Fisheries department will soon be radically overhauling the registration process of the fishing vessels. The new one will be part of a uniform national registration procedure that will make it very easy to identify as is the case in motor vehicles.
The bulk of details including those pertaining to port and state of origin as well as its type, length, breadth and ownership shall be easily available online for use by the various official and security agencies.