Monday, February 16, 2009

Gujarat fishermen place grievances before Rahul gandhi


Gujarat fishermen place grievances before Rahul gandhi

Vadodara, Feb 12: All India Congress Committee General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, who is on a three-day visit to Gujarat, was presented with a list of demands from members of the fishing community in Porbandar on Thursday.

Rahul, who was in Porbandar, the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi this afternoon, met with fishermen and gave a patient hearing to their demands, Porbandar Boat Association President Jivanlal Jungi told a news agency over phone.

The Congress leader was also presented with a written request of the demands, Jungi said.

The fishing community has demanded compensation for the family members of the five slain crew members on board MV Kuber, the vessel supposedly used by terrorists to enter Mumbai for the 26/11 terror attack, Jungi said.

We requested Rahul to take up the matter with the prime minister, Jungi said.

Despite the Centre announcing a Rs five lakh compensation, 18 months ago, to each of the fishermen whose boats are in Pakistani custody since 2003, none had received the amount so far, Jungi claimed.

Jungi said that he requested Gandhi to ask the government to pay the entire amount, announced as part of a rehabilitation package, to fishermen in the form of a grant instead of giving it to them as loans.

The fishing community also demanded continuation of payment of Rs 1.50 as subsidy per litre of diesel to fishermen, a policy which has been discontinued since 2006, Jungi said pointing out that the subsidy was still being paid to fishermen in the Union Territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

Jungi said they also demanded the Centre's assistance in building cold storages across coastal towns in the state, helping fishermen preserve their fish for a long time.

Although fishermen had been set on par with the agricultural community, they did not get all the benefits available to farmers, Jungi claimed.

Jungi also said that they asked Rahul to ask the Center to pressurize Pakistan to release more than 300 boats in the neighboring country's custody since 2003.