The “forgotten” fishermen of Bangladesh at least 2 million people are being offered insurance for the first time to protect their families from the risks of their perilous livelihoods.
Thousands of fishermen have started signing up for Community Based Insurance for Coastal Fishermen offered by the state-run life insurance body, Jiban Bima Corporation (JBC).
Under the programme, family members of fishermen killed, crippled or missing from natural disasters or wild animal attacks will receive Tk 200,000 ($2,450), which can at least save them from starvation.
The programme requires at least 50 fishermen younger than 60 form a group, with each member paying Tk 1,240 ($15) per year for a minimum of three consecutive years. The policy holder will get back 85% of his total premium if he doesn’t want to renew after three years. JBC officials said the scheme was launched in southern Satkhira district in September in collaboration with the Inter-Governmental Organisation Bay Of Bengal Programme (BOBP-IGO), based in Chennai, India.
Every year, at least 100 Bangladeshi fishermen die at sea or disappear while fishing in the Bay of Bengal due to natural calamities. Tigers and crocodiles in the Sundarbans kill or maim many fishermen as well.
Shivpado Mondal, a resident of Ashashuni Upazila (subdistrict) in Sathkhira, is one of the policy holders.
“Nobody cares for our lives. The fishermen are highly enthusiastic as the company approached us for the scheme. This will help our family a lot,” Mondal told Khabar South Asia, adding that 1,000 fishermen had purchased insurance in his upazila alone.
Rafiqul Islam, joint secretary of the Bangladesh Fishermen’s Association, told Khabar, “The forgotten community is becoming increasingly conscious about safety.
“We have a village in Satkhira called Bagher Gram (Village of Tigers) where at least 10 people die of tiger attacks every year, leaving their families in a dire situation,” said Isla. However, he added the premium is high for some fishermen.
Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock Joint Secretary Shamsul Kibria told Khabar BOBP-IGO and its secretary general Yugraj Yadava were the catalysts in initiating the policy in Bangladesh. He called it an “obscure beginning of a great scheme.”
Bangladesh, India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka are members of the regional body which provided technical and advisory assistance, after introducing similar programmes in India and Sri Lanka in 1985 and 2011, respectively.
Kibria said while the annual premium is high for some fishermen, it may decrease to only Tk 15 ($.19) to Tk 20 ($.25) per client if the corporation brings two million people under coverage.
“Two million people would deposit Tk 40 million ($501,000) per year, but we will not need to pay half of it as compensation,” he said, putting annual deaths of fishermen between 100 and 150.
JBC Managing Director Pariskit Datta Chowdhury told Khabar that BOBP-IGO is also offering its expertise to improve the designs of some 43,000 Bangladeshi fishing boats, and providing lifebuoys for fishermen.
“Better design would save lives,” Chowdhury said.
“This will be a 100% successful project,” the visiting Yadava told a gathering of fishermen in Pirojpur district November 5th.
He said maritime fishing was the most dangerous profession in the world as 24,000 people die every year but “nobody is worried about it”.