Srikakulam: YSRCP government committed to fishermen welfare

Srikakulam: The YSRCP government is committed to welfare of fishermen in the state, said Roads and Buildings Minister Dharmana Krishna Das.

Participating in the World Fisheries Day celebrations at Metturu village in Vajrapu Kotturu mandal on Thursday, the minister said that the YSRCP government has enhanced compensation during fishing holiday period from Rs 4,000 to Rs 10,000 and the move would benefit 11,000 fishermen. "We are providing Rs 9 as subsidy on diesel per litre to fishermen who are operating motorboats for fish hunt. For aqua fields, the state government will supply power by fixing tariff as Rs 1.50 paisa per a unit," the minister said.

The government will also pay insurance amount on death of fishermen, he said and added 10,000 houses allotted for fishermen across the district, who lost houses due to Titli cyclone.

The government is planning to start more development projects along the seacoast to arrest migration of fishermen from the district, the minister elaborated. Fishermen from across the district attended for the event and explained their problems on the occasion.

Palasa MLA S Appala Raju, Collector J Nivas, Joint Director for Fisheries V V Krishnamurthy and fishermen union leaders also spoke at the event.