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Southern
fishermen blame bungling for their plight These fishermen who had appealed to the Fisheries Ministry to help them get back on their feet had allegedly been let down very badly. As a result the fishing community in the south have taken to the streets carrying banners and chanting slogans asking why the Fisheries Ministry is not helping them get boats to replace the ones destroyed in the tsunami. The fishermen of Kathaluwa fishing village in Galle, which is home to around 300 fishermen, were seen protesting on the Galle Road carrying banners asking the Government to help them in the present crisis situation. They were also protesting at the Government being unable to help them get boats from even the non-governmental organisations that were willing to donate some. A fisherman from the Kathaluwa village, Sunil Jayantha, told The Sunday Times the main reason they were protesting was that they were deprived of getting five boats from a foreign NGO due to the alleged inefficiency of the Fisheries Ministry. " The NGO officials had wanted documentary evidence to prove that we had owned the boats before and that we were fishermen. When we told them all our entire documents had been washed away we were asked to get a letter from the Galle Fisheries Ministry instead," Jayantha said. " We spent Rs. 500 on a three-wheeler to go to Karapitiya and meet the officer in charge of fisheries in our area, Mr. D. Weeraperuma, for authorisation to get the boats. However, he refused our request and instead asked us to meet JVP MP Ajith Kumara. The MP said it may take a few weeks before he could give such a letter. By this time the boats had been given away to fishermen in some other village," he said. " After the tsunami not a single Fisheries Ministry official came to see us. We learn that Mr. Weeraperuma does not even report to work now. When we took to the streets MP Ajith Kumara advised us not to protest on the roadside as it makes us look bad. He also said we should call off our protest as a solution to our problems will come in time," he said. In parts of the southern coast most fishermen use sailboats and boats with oars to go fishing as a substitute for the motorboats or trawlers they once used. A fisherman Jude Nishantha said it was due to the desperate situation they are in that they have gone back to primitive ways of fishing. " We can't catch as much fish as we did earlier but till the Government helps this is our only alternative," he said. Another fisherman said most fishermen face a suicidal situation as they had taken loans. " We will do anything to go back to the sea but we can't do that without boats. We have taken loans from mudalalis but we cannot tell them we have lost everything so we can't pay. This is the time the Government should be with us," he said. However, Fisheries Minister Chandrasena Wijesinghe told The Sunday Times so far five projects have already been implemented and the industry has been put back on its feet to a certain extent. " Most people are trying to blow the whole situation out of proportion. Making boats is not as easy as making bread or buns but we have done a great deal of work by restoring some of the harbours so the fishermen can go fishing. It takes time to revive the entire industry fully," he said. In a few areas in the south Fisheries Ministry vehicles were seen distributing aid carrying banners of the JVP relief force. Most aid including tents given to the fishing community by the Fisheries Ministry has been marked as coming from the JVP. The Sunday Times learns the Fisheries Ministry has borne a loss of Rs. 16.5 billion, which includes the estimated damage to the ten fishery harbours. Up to now the Fisheries Ministry has reportedly obtained US$ 18 million as foreign aid to revive the fisheries industry. |
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