Mangalore: Hailing CM Yeddyurappa’s separate farming budget as a goodwill gesture towards land farmers in state, Vasudeva Boloor of Fishermen’s Action Committee (FAC) on Wednesday, talking to newsmen here, asked the state rulers to extend similar facilities to farmers of the sea, or fishermen who were poor.
He wanted the crop loans “free of interest’ to the farm children, to be extended to fishing community on sea, rivers and inland waters.
He said fishermen came into Unorganized Workers Social Security Act, but they were excluded from pension scheme, which could provide security to them.
Mechanised fishing boats still run on diesel being provided free of tax by the state. But they did not benefit by Centre’s Rs3 subsidy per litre of diesel given to BPL families and urged the Centre to remove the BPL tag for securing diesel for the fishermen too.