With the government announcing a 63-day annual ban on fishing from April 15, the East Godavari district unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Saturday demanded that the government pay ex gratia to fishermen in advance. Secretary of the party’s district unit Duvva Seshu Babji said that the fishermen were forced to stop venturing into the sea for fishing as a result of the ban promulgated by the government. There was an inordinate delay in the payment of ex gratia to the fishermen towards the ban period. Despite a series of representations from the community leaders and the supporters of the fishermen, the officials are postponing the payment time and again, he said. The CPI (M) leader said the government should pay the ex gratia before promulgating the ban, so that the fishermen need not suffer to make both ends meet.
2016, The Hindu