Minister J. Mercykutty Amma has said that a proposal to train the sranks and provide them licence for operating fishing boats is under consideration.
She was inaugurating the distribution of driving licence to fishers as part of ‘Theerasenakkoru License’ project, as initiative launched by the district administration in connection with Safe Kollam.
New regulations
She pointed out that the new regulations of the Centre would prevent the fishers from venturing beyond 12 nautical miles, limiting their fishing rights to territorial waters.
“We are trying to address this issue by providing training and licence to the sranks,” she said.
Currently more than 30,000 crafts are operating within 12 nautical miles of territorial waters and the fishers belonging to the traditional sector had approached the Government many times demanding permit beyond the limit.
Over 2,450 fishers in the district will be given driving licence as part of ‘Theerasenakkoru License’ project and in the initial phase 176 persons received the permit.
Since ensuring safe roads is an important aspect of Safe Kollam, the project was launched to provide training to fishers enabling them to obtain licence.
Another objective of the project is spreading awareness among the fishing community of the importance of following traffic rules.
Special training
Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) in association with Trauma Care and Road Accidents Aid Centre in Kollam (TRACK) had conducted special training sessions for those who could not write and read, introducing them to traffic norms.
Fishers from Pallithottam and Thangassery were selected for the first sessions and the project would eventually cover the residents of other fishing villages in the district.
District Collector B. Abdul Nasar presided over the function and N.K. Premachandran, MP, Deputy Transport Commissioner B. Muralikrishnan, Fisheries Deputy Director Geethakumari and Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean studies (KUFOS) syndicate member H. Basil Lal were also present on the occasion.
