The national fishworkers forum secretary Narendra Patil said that the state government’s plan to develop inland waterways under Sagar Mala project will not help the common man and fishing communities, but only the corporates. The forum has warned the state government and the captain of ports not to go ahead with signing of MoU or else the fishermen would be forced to launch a state-wide agitation. Addressing a press conference in Vasco on Saturday, Patil strongly opposed the plan and said that the plan envisages development of 101 inland waterways across the country and dredging of around 14,500 kilometer of rivers and canals across India including five rivers Mandovi, Zuari, Chapora, Mapusa and Sal, and Cumbharjua canal in Goa. Patil alleged that the Union minister Nitin Gadkari has fooled the fishermen of India by presenting the draft national policy on fishing and fishermen which has objectives to improve the standard of living of fishing community in a sustainable and equitable manner, conserving and managing fisheries resources and marine biodiversity for sustainable utilisation and preserving, protecting, renovating and repairing the existing water bodies and creating new ones as community assets in order to encourage inland fishing. But, he alleged that the government was undoing everything and displacing the fishermen completely.
www.navhindtimes.in 2011