Not many takers for power blocks subsidy scheme
TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: Less than a week to go for the new fishing season, mechanised boat owners are keeping their fingers crossed over the arrival of workforce, even as the government subsidy scheme for power blocks for the fishing vessels hardly had any takers.
Only around 25 per cent of the total manpower required to sustain the fishing industry has reported at the jetties, while many a boat owner have headed to distant Jharkhand and Odhissa for the required workforce.
Goa’s fishing industry is heavily dependent on migrant labour and it is against this backdrop that the boat owners are hoping against hoping for the arrival of the workers on time at the jetties.
Says president of Cutbona Boat Owners Union, Seby Cardozo: ‘About 20-25 per cent of required manpower have reported at the fishing jetties till date. Many boat owners are presently holed up in Jharkand, Odissha and Andhra Pradesh and they are expected to return back with the workers.
Asked to throw light on the response of the boat owners to the power block subsidy scheme announced by the government which would have helped reduce the work force to substantially, Cardozo said his inquiries with the Fisheries department has revealed that there were hardly any takers for the power block subsidy scheme. ‘A few boat owners, around less than 10, have installed the power blocks on their fishing vessels. There are inquiries over the nature of the scheme. Basically, power blocks are installed on boats involved in purse seine fishing”, he said.
Fisheries Minister, Avertano Furtado said the power block scheme, providing subsidy of Rs 1.5 lakh will benefit the boat owners to a very large extent. “The power bloc held reduce the requirement of manpower on the fishing vessels. Though there may not be many takers this time, I am confident that boat owners will avail benefit of the scheme in the future”, he said.
This year, the Parrikar government had extended the 45-day ban on fishing to 61 days, beginning from June 1 in view of dwindling fish catch over the last couple of years. Though the Chief Minister had announced 75 day ban on fishing during his budget speech, the period was finally fixed at 61 days after taking into account the views of the boat owners.
