Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has said that eight fishing harbours and a fish landing centre will be established in the State at a cost of ₹3,000 crore in the next three years.
Launching the YSR Matsyakara Bharosa by initiating payments to the beneficiaries of the scheme at his camp office here on Wednesday, Mr. Jagan said the government felt that the problems faced by the fishermen were bigger than the constraints being faced by it. Hence, assistance was being provided to them.
“The government has increased the assistance to each family from the earlier ₹4,000 to ₹10,000. In all, 1,09,231 families will stand to gain,” said Mr. Jagan.
The previous government hardly paid any compensation to fishermen during the period of annual ban on fishing in the sea from April 15 to June 15, he alleged.
Recalling that the fishermen in East Godavari district had approached him during his padayatra in the run-up to the general elections, Mr. Jagan said a compensation of ₹70.53 crore was paid to them.
The fishermen suffered losses due to drilling activities of the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Limited (GSPL), but the company did not pay compensation. The government had cleared it on humanitarian grounds, he added.
Gujarat returnees
The government gave a financial assistance of ₹5 lakh each from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) to the fishermen who were brought back from Pakistan jail. Recently, about 4,300 fishermen, who were stranded at Veraval of Gujarat due to the lockdown, were brought home on government expenses. They would be paid ₹ 2,000 each after the quarantine period, he said.
Fisheries Minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana, Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney and representatives of fishermen associations were present on the occasion.
