EDITORIAL
Considering the huge potential, the govt must go to the people with schemes
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday attended the Ramponn Fest in Benaulim, where he assured the traditional fishermen that he would consider their long-pending demand to allot a parcel of land belonging to the Fisheries Department for fishing activities. He, along with Fisheries Minister Nilkant Halarnkar, said the central and state governments would support traditional fishing communities as part of the Blue Revolution envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
For years, traditional fishermen have been asking for a piece of land from the government-owned property (land from the prawn hatchery project) in Benaulim for their fishing activities, such as storage of fishing nets, canoes, drying fish, sale of fish, etc. They will be waiting for the Chief Minister’s next visit, as he has promised to inspect the property and resolve the issue soon. If he does, he will be remembered by them for a long time to come, as Sawant himself said that the issue should have been resolved by the previous chief minister and fisheries ministers. (It’s another matter that some of the politicians he referred to are now in the BJP or were part of BJP-led governments.)
Considering the unemployment scenario in the state, Sawant rightly spoke of the need to strengthen the blue economy. For more than a decade now, we have been regularly hearing the term ‘blue economy’. Goa has huge potential in the blue economy, as it supports entrepreneurship in processing, packing, marine conservation, cold chains, maritime infrastructure, etc. Last month, the CM spoke of how fisheries can be effectively linked to tourism and used to provide livelihoods with value addition and innovation. During the CM’s Benaulim visit, traditional fisherman Francisco Fernandes, popularly known as Pele, made an important point: that many of the state’s fishermen are migrating abroad. He urged the government to make fishing a more sustainable occupation to halve the trend. If the government over the years had offered better job opportunities and created a vibrant tourism-linked economy, many may not have migrated.
It is not that the government has done nothing to promote fisheries or support traditional occupations. For more than 15 years, the government has launched several schemes under different departments offering financial support to take traditional trades forward. However, some schemes need to be updated or amended, considering that technology is playing a major role in business and in view of the changing tastes of tourists. Just as many have opened ‘fish thali’ restaurants cashing in on fish-eating tourists, there is also scope for fisheries-related activities in the tourism sector.
There is no denying that many look for white-collar jobs instead of soiling their hands, but the fact remains that the government has failed in promoting the schemes. Statements are made at some functions; however, beyond that there is no effort to popularise the schemes. As a result, they exist mostly on paper. There is an urgent need for departments concerned to go to the people, visit villages, and hold camps. Just like the ‘Sarkar Tumchya Dari’ programme, new initiatives should be taken up, such as ‘Schemes Tumchya Dari’. Let it not be a burden on government departments. Let government agencies involve community leaders and social organisations to ensure that the schemes reach the people. The departments, however, should be given targets. Being a small state, execution of such plans cannot be difficult. Taking into account the buzz that business activities are going into the hands of non-Goans, the government has the extra responsibility of helping revive traditional occupations such as fishing in a bigger way. Put in place fishing cooperatives to stop the out-migration of youngsters from the community.
