Mechanised and motorised fishing boats are venturing into the Bay of Bengal for the last few voyages, as the 62-day ban on fishing in the Indian waters is coming into vogue from the early hours of April 14 to facilitate the breeding season of the fish.The officials of the Fisheries Department are focussing on imposing the ban in a strict manner. Of the 974-km-long coastline in Andhra Pradesh, East Godavari accounts for 161 km, along which over 3.5 lakh people belonged to fishermen community are residing in about 100 villages and hamlets. Though the official records indicate that 66,777 people are eking out a livelihood from seawater fishing, at least half of them are going to get affected by the fishing ban, with 2,168 motorised boats and 469 mechanised boats venturing into the sea for fishing. Besides imposing the ban, the government has announced an ex gratia of `4,000 for each fisherman for the 62 days and the amount will be credited directly into their bank accounts. The Fisheries Department officials have asked the fishermen to seed their bank accounts with Aadhaar. The department has made registration of the boats mandatory to make the fishermen concerned eligible for the ex gratia. An ex gratia of a mere `4,000 for a 62-day period won’t serve any purpose. Our counterparts from the neighbouring Union Enclave are drawing `8,000 for the same period, and the government should make uniform payment to all the fisherfolk, points out Mechanised Fishing Boat Owners’ Welfare Association. The association claimed that fishermen have been facing problems in getting the compensation, even after repeated complaints to the authorities. How can the government implement the ban in a proper manner, without paying the ex gratia in advance? In the absence of money to meet the both ends, the fishermen are forced to violate the ban and venture into the sea, says a fisherman.Ex gratia amount is being finalised and released by the State government. From our part, we are going to implement the ban very strictly by deputing surveillance teams, says a Fisheries Department official.