National Fisherfolk Forum submits memorandum to Union Minister

Making diesel and kerosene available at affordable prices to fishermen feature among their list of key demands

The National Fisherfolk Forum (NFF) has taken up with Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister for Fisheries, a set of key demands, including making diesel costs affordable as fuel expenditure had a direct and day-to-day bearing on their livelihood struggle. In a memorandum submitted recently to the Union Minister in Delhi, NFF chairperson M. Ilango pointed out that traditional fishermen use motorised boats, boats with out-board motors (OBM) and mechanised boats, and diesel was the main propelling fuel for craft that ventured into the sea for multiple days (though in some States, catamarans use kerosene as fuel for their OBMs). Fishermen, who undertake long expeditions, spend anywhere between few thousand and few lakh rupees per trip on fuel expenditure alone. Quite often, they return without sufficient catch to meet expenses and end up paying heavy interest for loans taken from private money lenders. “We request that fishermen be provided diesel and kerosene at cost price, without any customs or excise duties, service tax, sales tax or any other impost or cess,” said the memorandum of the NFF, which is the only national-level organisation that has membership in all 36 States of India, including all 13 coastal ones.