Kerala - Kollam   

Fish workers flay import policy

Matters of ‘import’: State president of the Kerala Swathantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation T. Peter inaugurating a dharna staged by fish workers in front of the Head Post Office in Kollam on Thursday.

KOLLAM: State president of the Kerala Swathantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation (KSMTF) T. Peter has said the Central Government is adopting policies detrimental to the interests of the fishing community in the country.

He was inaugurating a dharna staged by fish workers in front of the Head Post Office here on Thursday in protest against the fish import policy.

Mr. Peter said the Centre’s policy would spell disaster for the fishermen. The Indo-European Free Trade deal adopted as a result of the policy permits import of fish species such as mackerels, sardines, mullets, anchovies and flounders, the means of livelihood for the traditional fishermen in India.

Traditional fishermen would be denied a just price for their catch as import of fish would cause the price to plummet. The fishermen and their families would soon starve.

Mr. Peter said that though Centre was considerate to the agricultural sector, its attitude to the fishing sector was inimical.

Even the CPI(M), which was opposed to the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, had nothing to say in support of the fishing community.

In West Bengal, traditional fish workers living on an island were evicted from their homes and the island handed over to the authorities for the commissioning of an atomic reactor.

He said the authorities were harassing the fishing community in the name of the Coastal Management Zone (CMZ) proposed by the Swaminathan Committee.

Mr. Peter said the fish workers would oppose the CMZ and, if the need arose, lay siege to Central Government establishments such as airports and railway stations to press their demands.

The workers would stage a dharna, under the banner of the Kerala Swathantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation, in front of the AG’s Office in Thiruvananthapuram on September 17. Another dharna would be staged on September 27 in front of the Marine Products Export Development Authority in Kochi.

The march was led by KSMTF general secretary A. Andrews and district president S. Joseph.

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