In his attempt to reach out to the communities across Gujarat, Minister Vijay Rupani has started meeting people to understand their genuine grievances and also understand their expectations from the government.
Keeping with his initiative, Rupani met 65 fishermen from 15 coastal districts, extending from Saurashtra & Kutch to south Gujarat, as part of the state government’s ‘Mokla Mane’ interactive session at his official residence.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said that an Rs.1, 200-crore project to build nine new harbours in the state has been started in consultation with the Central Government. The state will take steps needed to develop inland and marine fishery in sync with Prime Minister Narendrabhai Modi’s call for total revolution. “Fishermen’s children will live so long fishlings live,” he said.
Talking to The Pioneer, the chief minister said, “Gujarat government considers fishermen as ‘Sagar Khedut, meaning ‘farmers of the sea’. They have requested me to issue Kisan Credit Cards to them on the lines of farmers, I have directed concerned department it out for them. We have also started to provide big trawlers to small fishermen for their survival” he said.
The state government is also mulling issuing permits to fishermen of neighbouring states for fishing in the Gujarat’s territorial waters. “This is imperative since others states do not allow fishermen from Gujarat to fish in their waters since the coastal areas are well defined. A problem typical to Gujarat’s fishermen is the state’s territorial water bordering that of Pakistan, inadvertently entering one another’s territory or being forcibly captured – a sensitive international issue. Gujarat has asked the Central Government to ensure early release of such Gujarati fishermen from Pakistan’s detention”, the chief minister added.
“We are providing subsistence allowance of Rs.300 per day to the families of each of such detainee. As far as fishermen declared missing in high sea during storms or cyclone, the state government provides ex gratia compensation as compassion towards the kin of such fishermen who do not return for five years”, Ruapni said.
During interaction, farmers’ representatives from Devbhumi-Dwarka suggested that chief minister should inaugurate the new harbour at Okha. It may be noted that Rumania had earlier held ‘Okla. Mane’ interactive session with representatives of slum-dwellers, teachers, differently baled and nomadic tribes.
“After every interactive session, officials of the concerned departments work on the feedback and petitions that are received from people. This initiative has gone a long way in ameliorating the condition of the underprivileged class. I hold this session with the representatives of various sections of the society on the fourth or fifth of every month” the chief minister said.
A senior official of the chief minister’s office said that participants are mostly from the underprivileged and disadvantaged classes of society and they are called to meet the chief minister irrespective of religion, caste or sex to be a part of the programmed. These informal interactions help in solving problems as they provide instant feedback.
