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Ban on non-sustainable fishing gear sought

PUDUCHERRY: Members who participated in the debate on five demands including Fisheries and Education on Tuesday and Wednesday urged the government to allot 100 per cent grant to aided schools and a ban use of non-sustainable fishing gear.

R.K.R. Anantharaman (PMK) said the government should issue a G.O. with a view to preventing fishermen from using pursuine nets, particularly against the backdrop of the 45-day ban on fishing to protect the juveniles.

A Central Act was already there to ban non-sustainable fishing gear, he said, adding that the Tamil Nadu government had also banned the use of pursuine nets.

Leader of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam A. Anbalagan also called for steps to prevent fishermen from using pursuine nets and ‘Rettaimadi’ nets by implementing the Fishing Regulation Act.

Mr. Anantharaman urged the government to provide VHF facility to the fishermen. The fish workers should be trained in adopting new technologies, he said.

Leader of the Opposition A.M.H.Nazeem (DMK) said the government should encourage deep-sea fishing in view of depleting fishery resources. A corporation could be formed for this purpose, he said. Calling for strict monitoring of the functioning of the local bodies, he said the government should expedite steps to call for global tenders for effective solid waste management in the urban areas.

He urged the government to curb the mushrooming teachers’ associations which had been working at cross-purposes. The assured career progression scheme should be sincerely implemented for the teachers, he said.

Mr. Anantharaman favoured revising the local area development fund allotted to the members to Rs.1.25 crore from Rs. 1 crore. Works related to clearing the garbage in rural areas were not satisfactory, he said, demanding a ban on plastic cups and digital hoardings.

Mr. Anantharaman said pollution control should be bifurcated from the Science and Technology Department.

Leader of the Puducherry Munnetra Congress K. Lakshminarayanan and Mr. Anbalagan said the government should fulfil its promise to create sports complexes of world standard in all the commune panchayats. Mr. Lakshminarayanan stressed the need for streamlining the functioning of the Jawahar Bal Bhawan. If the government took steps to enact a law to protect 50 per cent reservation, it need not bargain with the private medical colleges to earmark seats for the government quota, he said.

The government should strive for establishing its own university, he said adding that the proposal should not be given up on grounds of paucity of funds. The Pondicherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture should be converted into a deemed university, he said.

S.P. Sivakumar (DMK) wanted the government to waive the cooperative loan of Rs.33 lakh taken by the fishermen. The Technical Education Department should be revamped, he said, adding that the anomalies in the pension provided for the teachers should be removed.

He called for stern action against the private medical colleges which fleeced the students.

Mr. Anbalagan wanted the government to make use of helmets compulsory in view of the increasing number of fatal accidents. The minimum salary of the teachers should be increased to Rs.4,500, he said.

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