The Hindu : Karnataka News : Fishermen's forum plans dharna in Delhi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 17, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Fishermen's forum plans dharna in Delhi

By Our Staff Correspondent

MANGALORE, DEC. 16. The National Fishermen's Forum has decided to stage an indefinite dharna near Parliament House from the start of the budget session to press its various demands. They include subsidy of Rs. 2 per litre of kerosene used to run boats by traditional fishermen, according to the secretary of the forum, Vasudev Boloor.

In a press release here on Thursday, Mr. Boloor said the former Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee had promised to release subsidy for kerosene used by traditional fishermen. But the Government is yet to fulfil this assurance. The national conference of the forum held at Diamond Harbour in Kolkata earlier this month had decided to press the demand, he said.

`Revoke ban'

Other demands include withdrawal of the Rs. 1.50 cess on a litre of diesel being collected for the development of roads. The Government should also revoke the ban on turtle fishing as well the ban on fishing imposed at Jumbo Island off the West Bengal coast and drop the proposed Sethusamudram shipping channel project, he said.

Mr. Boloor said the next national conference of the forum will be held here from December 6 to 9, 2005. The forum also set up a National Women's Forum at the Diamond Harbour conference with Poornima Mehar of Maharashtra as convener.

The forum, he said, had urged the Union Government to seek the release of nearly 700 fishermen from Gujarat imprisoned by the Pakistani authorities for straying into their territorial waters. The president of the forum, Harekrishna Debnath, and Thomas Kochery, coordinator, World Forum of Fish Harvesters and Fish Workers, would discuss the issue with the authorities concerned and visit Gujarat and Pakistan to secure the release of the fishermen.

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