Unhappy over Budget, fisher folks to organise coastal yatra

The National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) will organize a 'coastal yatra' to protest against the Budgetary allocation for the development of fisheries by the NDA government. Calling the Budget anti-fish workers, the forum has decided to strengthen their movement against the decision of the Centre.

The NFF sees this as a part of the Centre's plan to develop Sagaramala project, Nuclear Power Plants, the Industrial Corridors, proposed Coastal Economic Zones, and Coastal Corridors. If these projects materialises, they will eventually displace millions of fisher folks.

Debasis Shyamal, secretary of the NFF said they would organise bigger movement if the Centre does not make an alternative arrangement for the displaced fishing community.

"Forget increasing the Budget allocation, they have in fact decreased the allocation for fisheries. The current government is trying to destroy the lives and livelihoods of the millions of traditional and small scale fishers all along the sub-continents' coast," Shyamal said. The NFF has also decided to take up the struggle, once again, to challenge the anti-fishery policy of the current government.

As a first step, the regional trade unions will organize public meetings in the respective states and would undertake a march along the coastal areas of the country anytime between September and October 2017. The key demands, among 25 others, are of a separate fisheries' Ministry and convert the CRZ notifications as legislation.