The All-Goa Fishermen’s Union (AGFU), the umbrella body of various fishing and traditional coastal communities, on Monday issued an ultimatum to the Centre that if the projects such as dredging of Mondovi and Zuari, Betul, satellite port proposed for Goa are not withdrawn, they would disrupt the BRICS summit scheduled to be held here in October.

The orgnisations led by Goenchea Ramponkaranchea Ekvott and several others have joined hands to form new union named All Goa Fishermen Union (AGFU) to forge unity among traditional fishermen and boat owners.

The AGFU has slammed the BJP governments at the Centre and in the State for “taking fishermen and traditional coastal communities of Goa for granted and imposing anti–fishermen projects on Goa’s fragile coastal ecology.”

General Secretary of AGFU Olencio Simoes has said that apart from scrapping the various projects, the government should also constitute district-level committees and notify the fishing villages.

The AGFU has threatened to disrupt the BRICS event if the government failed to constitute district-level committees and legalise all traditional houses as per CRZ notification, 2011, notify the fishing villages as per CRZ notification 2011to protect the fishermen houses at Baina in port town of Vasco da-Gama.

He said that apart from opposing dredging of rivers Mondovi and Zuari, proposed Betul satellite port, they have other demands like to increase the monsoon fishing ban period from 61 to 90 days, strict implementation of the ban on use of LED lights, bull trawling and high-speed engine.

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