Fish workers’ protest in Alappuzha on September 8
STAFF REPORTER http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/fish-workers-protest-in-alappuzha-on-september-8/article5057760.ece Fish workers will take out a rally and organise a public meeting in Alappuzha on September 8 in an attempt to highlight developments affecting their livelihood. The protest will be organised under the banner of the Kerala Swathantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation and the National Fish workers’ Forum (NFF), said T. Peter, the national secretary of NFF at a press meet here on Saturday. He said top among the list of demands was the strict implementation of the National Green Tribunal’s directive banning sea sand-mining along the coasts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. A separate Fisheries Union Ministry, banning or reducing the movement of ships that could impact fishing, and rehabilitation of those living in areas prone to coastal erosion by providing them with 10 cents land and a house, were among the demands. Another key issue was the plan to lay a pipeline from the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal at Kochi to Kayamkulam along the coastline. Mr. Peter said the move would derail the livelihood of thousands of fish workers settled along the stretch. He said the unions were against the seaplane project, since fish workers in the backwaters would be affected by it. He objected to the Union government’s dismissal of the State government’s proposal to consider coastal erosion as a natural disaster, and demanded that the Centre reconsider this proposal. He said the grievances of fish workers in two districts in Odisha who were banned from fishing for almost seven months to protect Olive Ridley turtles must be considered. It was not that the federation was opposed to environmental conservation. The government needed to bring in special nets that were used in other countries to let the fisherfolk work without harming the turtles. On September 8, the rally will be taken out from Alappuzha Collectorate to the municipal ground. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
