As the trawling ban is set to come into effect on June 9, fishers from the district have come up with a demand to allocate on time their free share of ration by the Civil Supplies Department and the financial aid from the State government’s Thanal’ scheme. Fishermen from the Puthiyappa and Vellayil coastal areas complained that the relief measures usually announced to alleviate the difficulties of coastal families during the trawl ban period never reached their hands at the most wanted time. In the last season, the Fisheries Department had prepared the list of fishermen families well in advance to consider the allocation of free ration, but no families got it on time, says Abootty, a fisherman from Puthiyappa. He said that the Fisheries Department was yet to compensate for the laxity with any other relief measure for the coastal community. Though the Fisheries Department has pinned the responsibility for the delayed ration distribution on the Civil Supplies Department, the fishers pointed out that the department could easily tackle such technical issues in consultation with higher government authorities. For several years, the same issue had been affecting the relief measures, they argued. Many of the fisher folk said that the amount allocated from the Thanal’ scheme was not sufficient even to buy provisions for a week. Velayudhan, a fisherman from Vellayil harbour, said the welfare fund of Rs. 3,000 credited to his account last year was not even sufficient to meet his daughter’s medical expenses. Also, the amount was released a few days before the lifting of trawl ban, he said. Promises earlier made by the government to create alternative sources of income for the fishers through small scale ventures during the trawl ban period were also non-starters in the district. In the absence of any such venture, the majority were moving to other jobs, including construction work and other manual labours. Though a few ventured into the sea on country boats, the income they got from the job was too meagre to survive the lean period, they said. The boats from other States will have to clear the coastal areas of the district by June 9. Along with that, the majority of the migrant labourers will leave the district in search of other jobs. The real sufferers will be the local fishers who used to find their living from mechanised fishing boats, says V. Rajesh, another fisherman. He said that there were more than 25,000 active fishers in Kozhikode district alone, who face the crisis during the trawl ban period. Figures available with the district administration state that the ban on trawling will keep around 5,000 fishing boats off the sea. This includes over 1,000 mechanised boats and 249 boats fitted with onboard engines. Fisheries department officials said they would initiate all possible measures to extend all the relief benefit for the eligible fishers on time. Measures were also in place to ensure the safety of country boats venturing into the sea during the season, they said.