The convenor of the National Fishworkers Forum (NFF), Narendra Patel on Saturday threatened the central government of a nationwide agitation in Delhi from March, if the central government does not withdraw the imposed surface road tax and several other taxes imposed on the fishermen community. In the concluding day of the two-day conference and annual general body meeting of the national forum held in Goa, almost after 40 years, Patel pointed out that the central government failed to take the stakeholders into confidence while formulating the fisheries policy and that their genuine demands are ignored. “The central government miserably failed to hear the demands of the fishermen of the country. While working out the plan for sea safety, the government should have taken the fishermen safety into consideration. It’s the fisherman who identified the terrorist Kasab in Mumbai,’’ he mentioned. He said that the fishermen of the nation will put up a collective agitation to press for their genuine demands.
Patel, who is a Mumbai resident sought to know why the central government has imposed 15 percent interest on financial help provided to small time fishermen of the nation by the centre. The general secretary of the forum, Olencio Simoes informed that a decision has been taken collectively to oppose the Sagarmala project by the NFF. He also demanded the Goa fisheries minister to immediately reject the central proposed project of huge cage farming in Goa stating, “Goa rivers do not belong to the centre.’’ He also demanded the environment minister to implement the plan given by the fishermen of the state and to withdraw the flaw filled GZMP 2021. He urged the state government to stop the three linear projects in the state of Goa as it would not benefit the farmers. Other committee members also spoke on the occasion.