KENDRAPARA: Even as the nation mourned the demise of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, seaside villages of Kendrapara district, far away from the media glare, quietly grieved loss of the man whose policies helped mitigate the pain of marine fishermen in turtle zones of Gahirmatha marine sanctuary.
After meeting a delegation of fishermen in 2005, the UPA government had directed the state to formulate policies to help fishermen during the seven-month-long fishing ban period. The state government launched alternative livelihoods of the fishermen and after a few years, started providing compensation to them during the fishing ban period.
“The news that Manmohan Singh is no more was shocking. We had met him along with three fishermen of our areas, CPM state secretary Janardhan Pati and MP Basudeb Acharia on November 27, 2004,” recalled Arjun Mandal of Batighar
The delegation urged Singh to help the fishermen community as the government had banned fishing in the sea within Gahirmatha sanctuary from November 1 to May 31 every year to facilitate nesting. “We submitted a memorandum to the PM during our discussion,” he recalled. Along with Arjun, Ashok Hota of Kharinasi, Shyamalal Debanath and CPM leader Pati met Singh. A pall of gloom descended in many villages under Mahakalapada block as the news of Singh’s death unfolded on Thursday night.
Currently, the state fisheries department provides `15,000 as yearly compensation to 16,500 fishermen families of the state who have been affected due to the fishing ban, said Rabi Narayan Patnaik, deputy director (marine) of fisheries department.