Fishermen to march against purse seine net trawlers tomorrow

25,000 fishermen to strike

Sakaal news service

Mumbai, 15: A march will be taken out from Girgaon Chowpatty to Vidhan Bhavan by All Maharashtra Fishermen Action Committee on Thursday (17th) at 2 pm to protest against the announcement of Fisheries Minister Eknath Khadse to issue licenses to owners of purse seine net trawlers in one week. 25,000 women and fishermen will participate in it, Damodar Tandel, Chairman of the Action Committee informed in a press conference on Tuesday.

Fishermen fish 25 to 50 fathoms deep, beyond 12 nautical miles. Khadse recently announced that licenses will be issued for fishing by purse seine net trawlers under the new law. Fishermen from Palghar, Thane and Mumbai will participate in this march. Therefore, fish markets will remain closed till 1 pm on Thursday, said Tandel.

All purse seine net trawler owners' licenses must be requisitioned. Purse seine nets should be banned. Due to the coastal road in Mumbai, there should not be a threat to the Koliwada houses and the port. If an acre of land is developed for the Shivaji memorial by filling the sea at Cuffe Parade, the livelihood of 25,000 fishermen will be threatened. Therefore, the major concerns of the organization were that the monument should instead be built on a rocky place near the bandstands in Bandra. They also warned that if the Shivaji memorial work is undertaken at Cuffe Parade, the fishermen would strike in the sea with 5000 boats.