Tag: fishermen

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India News Politics

Rahul meets delegations of fishermen from across India

New Delhi, Aug 8 (ANI): Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi meets with the delegation of the Right to Food Campaign and fishermen from across India, at the Parliament, in New Delhi on Thursday. (ANI Photo)

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said that Rahul Gandhi is going to meet the students because his resolve of ‘Bharat Jodo’ continues…reports Asian Lite News

Leader of Opposition of Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday met the delegations from the Right to Food Campaign and fishermen from across India and said that it is their right to meet anyone.

“It is our right to meet anyone. But they are not allowing it. I had spoken about farmers. Speaker told the House that they are not being stopped. Now they have been stopped again. There is a Sri Lanka issue of farmers. There were also people from Child Welfare. I keep doing this (meeting delegations). My life becomes a bit more difficult as it is easier to meet them there (LoP Chamber in Parliament). Otherwise, now I have to keep coming here,” Rahul Gandhi told reporters on Thursday.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi headed to the reception area of the Parliament and was accompanied by Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi.

“LoP Rahul Gandhi meets delegations from the Right to Food Campaign and fishermen from across India, listening to their concerns and standing up for their rights!” Congress posted on X.

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said that Rahul Gandhi is going to meet the students because his resolve of ‘Bharat Jodo’ continues.

“A student delegation has not been able to enter the Parliament yet and meet LoP. Rahul Gandhi is going to meet them because his resolve of ‘Bharat Jodo’ continues,” Gogoi said.

Earlier, members of Safai Karamchari Andolan and people involved in the practice of manual scavenging met Rahul Gandhi.

Members of the Safai Karamchari Andolan and people involved in the practice of manual scavenging met the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi at his office in Parliament today. The Modi government claims that the practice of manual scavenging has been eradicated from the country, but the ground reality is different. Government data shows that in the last 5 years, 377 people lost their lives while cleaning and tanks. The government needs to pay attention towards their safety and better life and this is possible only when the government accepts the truth,” Congress posted on X.

Earlier today, Lok Sabha LoP, along with the other MPs of the party attended the meeting of Congress Lok Sabha MPs. The meeting was conducted in the Parliament House Annexe in Delhi today.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which amends the Waqf Act, 1995, was introduced by Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to “effectively address” issues related to the powers of the State Waqf Boards, registration and survey of waqf properties and removal of encroachments, was introduced in Lok Sabha. (ANI)

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Business Tech Lite Technology

Fishermen’s E-Market Soon

The initiative will offer economies of scale to marginal fishermen by centralizing their scattered businesses on a shared digital platform for product sales…reports Asian Lite News

With the aim of providing fishermen with an e-market platform, the Department of Fisheries will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) on February 19.

The officials said that the MoU will be signed in the presence of Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala and Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying L Murugan at Krishi Bhawan in the national capital.

E-commerce player Dunzo.(photo:www.dunzo.com/bangalore)

“This essential step will provide a digital platform for fisherfolks, fish farmers producers organisation, entrepreneurs, SHGs, fishermen cooperatives and other relevant stakeholders in the fisheries sector to access wider markets, expanding their reach and potential customer base,” the officials said.

They said that the collaboration between Department of Fisheries and ONDC will facilitate the implementation of technology-driven solutions, improve efficiency, collectivisation and competitiveness of the small scale producers and marketers.

“ONDC is a unique platform of e-marketing and will play a significant role in the fisheries sector to connect maximum FFPOs and other fishermen cooperatives,” they said.

The officials said that by providing a direct channel between producers and consumers, ONDC will support in reducing the reliance on intermediaries, leading to higher profits for fishers and lower prices for consumers.

“This initiative will also provide a scale of economy to the marginal fishermen engaged in scattered business through a common digital platform for their products,” the officials said.

They said that the adoption of digital technical solutions will serve various benefits for fisheries industries like enhanced trust, reduced transaction costs, increased market reach, improved transparency, increased competitiveness, innovation, and employment generation.

“In the long term, the ONDC network will facilitate seamless integration for harnessing the benefits of collectivisation between producers, processors, and distributors within the fisheries sector, enabling efficient supply chain management, value chains and market access,” the officials said.

They said that this collaboration will facilitate capacity building and raise awareness through educational workshops for MSMEs, start-ups, SHGs, small and marginal fishermen, FFPOs, fishers, and market participants in the fisheries sector.

“Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is incorporated as a Section 8 company, an initiative by DPIIT, Ministry of commerce and industry, aiming at promoting open networks for all aspects of exchange of goods and services over digital or electronic networks,” the officials said.

They said that it has recorded more than 6.3 million transactions in the month of November’23 across 600+ cities. The sellers and service providers are spread across 500+ cities expanding the geographical coverage of the ONDC network.

Presently, over 3000 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) have registered to be a part of the ONDC through various network participants. Also, around 400 Self-Help Groups (SHGs), micro-entrepreneurs and social sector enterprises have been onboarded on the network.

ALSO READ: India Emerges as Digital Powerhouse

Categories
-Top News Asia News Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan Navy Detains 6 Indian Fishermen

The detained fishermen were brought to the Kankasanthurai harbour, and they will be handed over to the Mailadi Fisheries Inspector for further legal action, the Navy stated…reports Asian Lite News

As many as six Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who were fishing in international waters, were detained by the Sri Lankan Navy along with their trawler, near the Kankesanthurai area in Sri Lanka.

According to the Sri Lankan Navy, the fishermen were allegedly involved in ‘illegal poaching’ and were detained off the Kovilan Lighthouse in Kareinagar after a special operation on Wednesday.

“The Navy continues to conduct regular patrols and operations in Sri Lankan waters to curb illegal fishing practices by foreign fishing trawlers, taking into account the consequences of these practices on the livelihood of local fishermen and marine resources of the country,” the release stated.

The six fishermen belonged to the Pudukkottai district in Tamil Nadu. Out of the six, five fishermen have been identified, namely; Naresh (27), Anandababu (25), Ajay (24), Nandakumar (28) and Ajith (26). The sixth person has still not been identified.

The detained fishermen were brought to the Kankasanthurai harbour, and they will be handed over to the Mailadi Fisheries Inspector for further legal action, the Navy stated.

This episode has come just on the heels of another similar incident, where 25 fishermen — 12 from Tamil Nadu and 13 from Puducherry — were detained by the Sri Lankan Navy off Point Pedro town in Sri Lanka.

Last month, 27 Indian fishermen were released by the Sri Lankan authorities. They returned to the Chennai airport on separate days in sets of 12 and 15.

Earlier in October, a total of 64 fishermen who belong to Rameshwaram and Mandapam were arrested in three separate arrests by the Sri Lankan navy, allegedly for cross-border fishing along with their boats and fishing nets.

A total of 33 Indian trawlers and 220 Indian fishermen have been apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy in 2023 till now, it had earlier said in a statement.

Notably, the arrests of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy has been a concerning issue for both Tamil Nadu government as well as the BJP-led central government.

In October, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin wrote to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, highlighting the issue of repeated arrests of Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy and reiterated the demand to protect the traditional fishing rights of Tamil Nadu fishermen in the Palk Bay region.

After the recent detention of 12 fishermen, Tamil Nadu BJP President Annamalai also wrote to EAM Jaishankar and requested Jaishankar, seeking his intervention in the repatriation of 16 fishermen.

The issue was also discussed during the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe during the latter’s visit to July this year.

“Today we also discussed the issues related to the livelihood of fishermen. We agree that we should proceed with a humane approach in this matter,” the official statement by PM Modi after the meeting read. (ANI)

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Categories
-Top News Sri Lanka

Lankan Navy arrests 6 Indian fishermen

Indian fishing boats attacked by Sri Lankan navy

Six fishermen are now in the custody of the Sri Lankan Navy and their mechanized boat also stands impounded by the Navy…reports Asian Lite News

The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested six Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu, and impounded their mechanized boat.

The arrests were made on Wednesday night. The six were arrested on charges of crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and fishing in Sri Lankan waters.

The arrested have been identified as Balamurugan (28), Anthony (31), Thanagapandi (24), Ajit (28), Krishnan (31), and Mudugu Pichai (51). An official with the Tamil Nadu coastal police told IANS that the arrested, according to the information received, were taken to the Thalaimannar Navy camp.

A group of boats had gone fishing from Rameswaram on Wednesday night and were found fishing near Thalaimannar and Nachikadavu. A patrol boat of the Sri Lankan Navy apprehended 11 fishermen from the group in two boats and arrested them. However, when the fishermen from one boat informed the Naval officers that their boat had inadvertently crossed the IMBL and reached the Sri Lankan waters due to an engine failure, five of the arrested were released.

Six fishermen are now in the custody of the Sri Lankan Navy and their mechanized boat also stands impounded by the Navy. With the arrest of the fishermen, Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi areas have turned tense.

R. Selvakumar, leader of the Fishermen Association of Rameswaram while speaking to IANS said, “The Government of India and Government of Tamil Nadu must take up the matter immediately and bring up a permanent solution to this issue. We are suffering a lot and people are now scared to go fishing at the sea due to the arrests and jail terms in a foreign nation. Our costly boats are also impounded and later sold in open tender. Governments must intervene immediately and solve the issue.”

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