The State Fisheries Department has taken several important measures for the welfare of fishermen, both in professional and personal aspects.

Professional welfare

Primary among the professional welfare facilities are fish transportation facilities, biometric identity cards and on-sea distress alert systems.

Fish transportation facilities: Various fish transportation facilities have been distributed by the State Government – 7,300 Jal-Hundis to inland and marine fishermen as well as among fishermen’s cooperative societies, 1,237 Matsyajans, 10,500 bicycles with insulated boxes as well as 35,000 insulated boxes.

Identity facilitation: Biometric identity cards are being issued by the Government to marine fishermen; about 2.47 lakh identity cards have already been issued. Marine fishing vessels are being registered under the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 (for mechanised boats) and the West Bengal Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1993 (for non-mechanised boats).

Distress alert: For the safety and security of fishermen, the Government has taken up a programme for the free distribution of distress alert transmitters (DAT), to be fitted on to the vessels. A total of 3,656 DATs have been distributed till now.

Mechanised boats: A total of 593 mechanised boats – 93 six-cylinder boats and 500 two-cylinder boats – have been distributed as of now, benefiting 3,430 marine fishermen.

Personal welfare

Several personal welfare initiatives have also been taken for fishermen and their families, including pension for the old, insurance schemes and dwelling units.

Old Age Pension Scheme: The Old Age Pension Scheme is a scheme meant for retired and infirm fishermen. Under this scheme, 56,500 fishermen are getting a pension of Rs 1,000 per month.

Accident insurance: Under Fishermen’s Group Personal Insurance Scheme, financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh is provided to the family members of deceased or untraceable marine fishermen, and Rs 1 lakh to those of permanently disabled marine fishermen. During financial year (FY) 2017-18, 2,21,563 fishermen were covered.

Dwelling units: 14,500 houses have been provided for fishermen and their families.

All these prove that the Trinamool Congress Government has given the utmost attention to the welfare of all fisher-folk in the State, ensuring help in every way possible.

The Bengal Government will provide a subsidy of Rs 1 lakh for the conversion of each of the 15,000 semi-mechanised boats, plying the state’s waterways, into mechanised ones in accordance with the ship-building practices (marine regulations) for safe and smooth sailing.

To construct a robust mechanised boat – steel or wooden – as per the specifications under the scheme, Rs 9 to 14 lakh will be required. There will be two types of boats with carrying capacities of 40 and 60 passengers. The State Government will arrange for soft loans from banks for the boat manufacturers to meet the rest of the expenses.

Twenty boat manufacturing companies from across the country have recently got empanelled with the State Government to manufacture standardised safe and robust passenger boats that will replace the existing semi-mechanised boats.

The subsidies will be provided by the State Transport Department under the Jaladhara Scheme, instituted last April to create a set of rules and regulations for the mechanised boats running along the waterways of Bengal as well as for the jetties which serve these boats. Around 350 jetties made of wood or bamboo which are considered unsafe are being replaced with safer ones as part of the scheme.

The State Transport Department has handed over four wooden launches to the Diamond Harbour, Beldanga, Behrampore and Naihati Municipalities for them to operate. Each of them has a capacity of carrying 100 passengers.

The department also plans to set up a hospital on a vessel that will be stationed in the Sundarbans to provide treatment to people from the far-flung areas of the region.

১৫০০০ নৌকো আধুনিকীকরণে ভর্তুকি দেবে রাজ্য সরকার

জলপথ পরিবহণ আরও নিরাপদ করতে ‘গতিধারা’র আদলে ‘জলধারা’ প্রকল্প চালু করল রাজ্য। উন্নত প্রযুক্তির নৌকা তৈরি করতে প্রকল্পে সরকারি ভর্তুকি ও ব্যাঙ্কঋণের ব্যবস্থা করা হবে। প্রত্যাশিত ভাবেই উচ্ছ্বসিত ফেরিঘাটের মৈালিকরা। ইতিমধ্যেই কয়েকশো ফেরিঘাটের পরিকাঠামোর জন্য ১০ লক্ষ টাকা করে দেওয়া হয়েছে। ঢেলে সাজা হচ্ছে যাত্রী নিরাপত্তার বিষয়গুলি।

প্রশাসন সূত্রে খবর, পুরনো নৌকা বাতিল করে উন্নত প্রযুক্তির নৌকা কেনা বা পুরনো নৌকায় উন্নত প্রযুক্তি ব্যবহারের জন্য যা খরচ হবে তার ৩০ শতাংশ বা সর্বোচ্চ এক লক্ষ টাকা ভর্তুকি দেবে রাজ্য পরিবহণ দফতর। ব্যাঙ্ক ঋণের ব্যবস্থা করে দেওয়া হবে।

দুর্ঘটনা এড়াতে ঘাটগুলিতে এখন ‘সেমি-মেকানাইজড বোর্ড’ চালাতে চাইছে রাজ্য সরকার। ঠিক হয়েছে, আর্থিক দিক দেখবে পরিবহণ দফতরের ‘ওয়েস্ট বেঙ্গল ট্রান্সপোর্ট ইনফ্রাস্ট্রাকচার কর্পোরেশন’। তারাই ভর্তুকি থেকে শুরু করে ঋণ পাইয়ে দেওয়ার ব্যবস্থা করবে। প্রযুক্তির দিক দেখবে ‘পশ্চিমবঙ্গ অন্তঃদেশীয় জলপথ উন্নয়ন নিগম’। কোন নৌকা পুরোপুরি বাতিল হবে আর কোনটা সংস্কার করে আধুনিক যন্ত্র লাগিয়ে চালানো সম্ভব, তা তারাই ঠিক করবে।

Source: The Statesman

Tag: boats

State Govt looking after all aspects of fishermen’s welfare

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১৫০০০ নৌকো আধুনিকীকরণে ভর্তুকি দেবে রাজ্য সরকার