To improve the lot of fishermen living along Paradip coast in Odisha, the State Government is all set to extend public distribution system (PDS) doles to over 5,000 fishermen families.

The economy of fishing villages in the Rajnagar and Mahakalpada areas has taken a severe beating following the seven-month-long prohibition on sea-fishing to ensure the safety of Olive Ridley turtles. Depleting livelihood stakes had triggered human resource exodus from villages predominantly inhabited by fishermen communities.

The State has resolved to extend social security to fishermen families who are being hit hard by fishing prohibition provisions.

Besides the launch of various livelihood support projects, the affected families would now be entitled to all PDS benefits, including Rs 2 per kg rice.

“To extend PDS facilities, the exercise to enumerate traditional fishermen families is now under way. So far 5,400 families directly or indirectly hit by turtle conservation measures have been enumerated for PDS benefits,” Mr Rabi Narayan Pattnaik, Assistant Director of Marine Fisheries, Paradip, said.

Of the affected fishermen families, 3,000 are from Mahakalpada while 2,400 are from adjoining coastal areas of Rajnagar. The enumerated fishermen families would now become eligible for PDS benefits meant for Below Poverty Line (BPL) category families. They would be provided with special PDS cards issued by the civil supplies department, he said.

Every year, the State Government clamps a seven-month ban on sea-fishing in a 20 km radius sea territory stretching from Dhamara to Devi river mouth. In accordance with the Odisha Marine Fisheries Regulatory Act, 1983, the prohibitory orders on sea fishing remains effective from November 1 to May 31.

The legal embargo on fishing is to ensure the safety of breeding turtles which perish in large numbers either by getting entangled in mono-filament fishing nets or by getting hit by propellers of trawls.

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