A team of delegates of the National Fishworkers’ Forum will meet top political leaders, including the Prime Minister, from November 11 to 14 in Delhi to submit a memorandum about the problems faced by the fishing community.
The team comprising National Fishworkers’ Forum chairperson R K Patil, general secretary M Ilanko and secretary T Peter will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in Parliament Sushma Swaraj and leaders of various political parties.
The memorandum includes 21 demands, including the setting up of a Fisheries Department at the Centre, to cancel the licence issued to foreign ships for fishing, to implement the order of the National Green Tribunal preventing mineral sand mining in coastal areas, to give compensation to fishermen who lost their livelihood in sea accidents, storm, lightning and tsunami by including them in the list of national natural disasters and to form a package to give land and house to homeless fishermen, among others.
“Fishermen will take out a march and stage a dharna in 10 states on November 21, National Fishermen Day, under the aegis of the Fishworkers’ Forum,” said National Fishworkers’ Forum secretary T Peter in a release here on Saturday.