Mangalore, March 30: Hailing chief minister BS Yeddyurappa's separate agriculture budget as a goodwill gesture towards farmers of Karnataka, the Coastal Karnataka Fishermen Action Committee (CKFAC) on Wednesday, urged the government to extend all the facilities supposed to receive by the farmers to fishermen too.
Speaking to Coastaldigest.com, Vasudev Boloor, General Secretary of CKFAC, said that government should immediately issue an order to extend the proposed crop loans for farmers at one percent interest rate and interest-free loans for their children, to fishermen too.
He pointed out that although fishermen come under Unorganized Workers' Social Security Act, they have been excluded from the pension scheme of the government. “Government should include the fishermen in the above scheme”, he said.
Mechanized fishing boats are still in run due to the tax-less diesel being provided by the state government. However, none of the mechanized fishing boats benefitted by the central government's Rs 3 subsidy per one liter diesel, as it is confined to those under BPL category, he said adding that BPL should not be considered as a criteria for subsidy.
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