As they had promised, the National Fishworkers Forum called for a nation-wide protest on 30th October 2018. The protests across the state saw a turnout of thousands of fishermen and the general public. NFF stands firm against any proposed plan of a shipping corridor as it endangers the lives of all fishermen.
 
The protests were a success in garnering attention towards the fishing communities and their plights at the hands of a disinterested government and an exploitative corporate nexus. In Kerala, Shri. K.V Thomas, Hon’ble Member of Parliament inaugurated the protests, standing firmly in support of all fishing communities. MLA, Shri. M. Vincent was also in attendance. In Maharasthra, various fishing unions convened in large numbers, rallied for their livelihood and opposed the government’s one-sided notification. Shri. Mahadev Janker, Minister of Cattle and Dairy Development, Fisheries, attended the protests and heard the fishing communities’ demands. Along with him, Shri. Rahula Navekar, Shri. Bhai Jagtap, Shri. Raj Purohit, Shri Jayant Patil, all MLAs, also participated. Numerous political leaders joined the protests across all coastal states and were in support of the fishing communities and their demands.
 
In Goa, amidst hundreds of fishermen, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s effigy was burned as a collective sign of dissatisfaction. With a strong opposition to the disastrous effects of the Blue Economy, including the SagarMala project, various Goan Fishing Unions expressed their mistrust in the current ruling government. Furthermore, in West Bengal, all fishing unions submitted a memorandum outlining their fears and listing their demands to the concerned Ministry. Odisha and Tamil Nadu also saw a turnout of hundreds of fishermen standing in solidarity with each other and against the proposed shipping corridor.
 
Mr. Narendra Patil, The Chairperson of NFF and Mr. T. Peter, General Secretary have both pledged that if the government does not relent and continues towards establishing a shipping corridor, these protests will become nationwide and will reach Delhi too.
 
In this regard protests were held in Gujarat: Kutch, Porbandar, Veraval; Maharashtra: Mumbi Port, Ratnagiri and Malvan; Goa: Vasco fishing harbour; Karnataka: Mangalore, Karvar, Malppe harbours; Kerala: Kochin port, Chellanam harbour, Vizhinjam harbour; Tamil Nadu: Colachal, Thengapattanam, Muttam, Chinnamuttam and Nagapattinam harbours and Ramnadu; Andhra Pradesh: Guntur Bapatla; Odisha: Bhubaneswar Rajbhavan; West Bengal: Contai and Diamond Harbour.
 
If the government, does not heed the demands of the fishworkers after this protest, the NFF is planning to take a massive campaign across the coastal states with immediate effect.
 
Speaking to Sabrang India, Thomas Peter, the General Secretary of NFF from Kerala had earlier said that the govt was acting on corporate interest to implement their SagarMala project which connects all the ports in India. “We are trying to meet the minister for shipping and the govt but they haven’t spoken to us. How can they take such a decision without knowing how will it affect the fishermen community and people dependent on the coast for livelihood? If we go deep sea fishing beyond 15 nautical miles, we won’t be able to find proper fish, consumers won’t get what they need and we will lose our livelihoods. If we trespass the corridor, we get arrested. If we go into international waters, we get arrested. The ministers sitting in Delhi don’t understand what they are doing in the name of development,” he said.
 
National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) executive committee and fishermen leaders meeting was held on October 7, 2018 at Velsao Panchayat hall, Goa and they decided that National wide protest campaign against the proposed shipping corridor will be held on 30th October in all the coastal states. It was said that all fishermen will protest with their country boats and mechanized boats in the sea, wherever possible.
 
Affiliates of the National Fishworkers Forum: –
 
1. Machimar Adhikar Sangharsh Sangathan (MASS – Gujarat)- Usmangani Sherasiya- 09427443976
2. Maharashtra Machhimar Kruti Samiti (MMKS) (Maharashtra)- Kiran Koli- 09702-265813
3. Shramik Macchimar Kriti Samiti (Maharashtra)- Ravikiran Toraskar- 092259-00303
4. Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott (GRE- Goa)- Olencio Simoes- 091588-75851
5. Coastal Karnataka Fishermen Action Committee (Karnataka)- Vasudev Boloor- 09449207805
6. Kerala Swathanthra Malsyathozhilali Federation (KSMTF- Kerala)- Jackson Pollayil- 09349447166
7.Ramnadu District Fishworkers Union (Tamil Nadu)- Paul Samy- 094423-22393 –
8.Vangakadal Meen Thozhilalar Sangam Tamilnadu (Tamil Nadu)- Dr.Kumaravelu- 09442867035
9. Karaikal Fishworkers Union (Puducherry)- Vedavalli- 09047984880
10. Democratic Traditional Fisher’s and Fish workers Forum (Andhra Pradesh)- Debasis Paul 08555809779
11. Orissa Traditional Fish Workers Union (Odisha)- K. Allaya- 09437-069286
12. Dakshinbanga Matsyajibi Forum (DMF – West Bangal)- Millan Das- 078724-07611

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Indian Fishermen at risk of being wiped out due to new shipping corridor

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The National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) will be agitating at sea with their boats parked in defiance on Oct 30 against the September notification by the Government of India which has proposed a designated corridor for merchant ships to avoid ship-boat collisions in mid sea.

The national level protest will have fishermen joining from Kutch, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The Director General of Shipping (DGS) is in the process of notifying a designated corridor for merchant ships to avoid ships and fishing boats collision in mid sea, the current move from the DGS can be seen as unilateral to protect the interests of commercial shipping companies by completely sidelining the livelihood interests of fishermen in India.

The DGS is planning for a corridor which is 15 nautical miles away from the coastline with 20 nautical miles width. This is the main fishing ground for the traditional and mechanized sector. The fisherfolk argue that territorial waters can only be up to 12 miles approx. 22 kms, beyond which the International maritime borderline begins. If the corridor is kept between 15 miles with a width of 20 miles, fishermen will be left with nothing. About four million people are dependent on the current coastal economy.

If fishermen cross the international waters, they are vulnerable to capture by other nations or at risk of dying from natural calamities. If they fish in the corridor, the govt will arrest them for trespassing. The NFF argues that how can any man claim sovereignty of the sea? About 500 Gujarati fishermen are languishing in Pakistani jails due to the pressure of deep sea fishing. About 79 Kerala fishermen involved with deep sea fishing died in cyclone Ockhi and hundreds are still missing.

“The present move from the side of DGS is to completely stop fishing operations. Though the DGS is saying that the corridor will not be uniform along the coast, this cannot be acceptable to the fishermen who are solely dependent on it for their livelihoods. The fishermen will not only lose their fishing ground but may become liable and punishable for trespassing in the corridor,” the NFF said.

In this context, National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) executive committee and fishermen leaders meeting was held on October 7, 2018 at Velsao Panchayat hall, Goa and decided that National wide protest campaign against the proposed shipping corridor will be held on 30th October in all the coastal states. All fishermen will protest with their country boats and mechanized boats in the sea, wherever possible.

Speaking to Sabrang India, Thomas Peter, the General Secretary of NFF from Kerala said that the govt was acting on corporate interest to implement their SagarMala project which connects all the ports in India. “We are trying to meet the minister for shipping and the govt but they haven’t spoken to us. How can they take such a decision without knowing how will it affect the fishermen community and people dependent on the coast for livelihood? If we go deep sea fishing beyond 15 nautical miles, we won’t be able to find proper fish, consumers won’t get what they need and we will lose our livelihoods. If we trespass the corridor, we get arrested. If we go into international waters, we get arrested. The ministers sitting in Delhi don’t understand what they are doing in the name of development,” he said.

The SagarMala project consists of 415 projects worth 8 lakh crores. The project was a move to enter the blue economy which is a development strategy that uses sea transport for economic gain. The SagarMala project aims to develop ports, coastal economic zones, inland waterways and other infrastructure projects. The govt predicted that the project will become a $10 trillion economy by 2032.

Nitin Gadkari, the minister for shipping and water resources had said, “Our port-led development program will create opportunities for investors and employment for the youth,” with regards to SagarMala project. He also said recently that BJP made a number of tall claims which they knew they couldn’t execute just to grab power at the Centre.

Video Courtesy: Scroll.in

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The National Fishworkers’ Forum & National Alliance of People’s Movements will join hands to fight the destructive port & corridor based development model

Bringing into sharp focus, the ambitious –and allegedly ill-thought move of the Modi government to usher in high-cost port infrastructure development, especially of the Sagarmala project in Andhra Pradesh, a two-day national consultation on ‘Sagarmala’, just concluded in Delhi raises questions over the move. More than one lakh fish workers will participate in a series of protest actions against the move. The moot question is, will the media cover these protests?

Fishworkers and Fishing Communities to be Affected
Addressing the critical issues and concerns out of National Perspective Plan under the implementation for Sagarmala and Industrial Corridors along the Indian coastline, the National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) and National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) leadership asserted that such projects were being approved without any thought going into the effects on the fishing community who are settled all along the coasts. The original Sagarmala plan articulated under former PM Mr. A.B Vajpayee has been modified with large scale land and ocean grabbing, displacing the people and their right to life, livelihood and dignity. Dangerous levels of ecological devastation has also been accelerated which is being sidelined in this massive push for development.
 
The ill effects of the Enayam port, an upcoming port in Tamil Nadu, were also showcased, especially the largescale displacement of persons from a thickly populated coastal district. The Vizhinjam port, already handed over to the Adani group (ironically even by the Left Front government carrying on a policy put in place by the Congress-led UDF!!), and which is likely to swallow up the entire coastline, is being vigorously opposed by the fishing community in Thiruvananthapuram district. Similarly, the expansion of the Kamraj Ennoore port, in Tamil Nadu, has already been opposed by community and experts alike. The democratic demand for thorough viability studies and that these be made public, as also the consent and involvement of the local community during the planning of such projects, has been high-lighted. The meet demanded an immediate cessation of all construction related activities must be done.
 
The Sagarmala project is primarily aimed at developing ports, transport through waterways and promote shipping, in other words it is just a port-based development model. However, a port-based development of multiple projects intended at bringing in foreign currency, should be understood differently from coastal development.
 
Serious concerns are being raised about the environmental effects on the coasts with issues like coastal erosion, coastal accretion as well as severe problems of dredging and the effects on the sea bed due to this. It is a fact that construction of breakwaters is leading to such disturbance in the ocean current that fishworkers are not able to go into the sea to fish. Moreover, the massive increase in ports and coming in of huge projects under Sagarmala is not in coordination with the requirement and the feasibility of having a huge number of ports.
 
Fishworkers from Kutch, Gujarat highlighted the severe effects of the Adani port and Adani, Tata and OPG thermal power plants in the Mundra area on the traditional small fishermen who have faced detrimental effects on their livelihoods. It was also mentioned that Adani acquired huge amounts of land on the coastline for the Mundra SEZ first, and caused all kinds of environmental violations. The most shocking has been the ease with which over 2500 acres of mangroves were removed and land filling was undertaken by Adani, with impunity. These projects have also brought out severe effects on the marine ecology where up to 25 kms of coastline you can find dead fish because of the massive amounts of toxins being released into the estuaries.
 
‘Sagarmala’ needs serious national assessment, due to varied level of complexities. The industrial corridors, the economic corridors, smart cities, coastal investment regions like PCPIR and Sagarmala are all a part of the larger plan for industrialization, which will destroy India’s vulnerable coastline.
 
De-monetization Hits the Fisher People
The leaders also noted that the NDA Government’s demonetisation effort, under the pretext of curtailing black money, is hurting the fishing community across India – other than many other formal and informal production sectors. Without scientifically assessed reasons and a detailed cost-benefit analysis, it is scary that the Central Government has gone ahead with such a scheme, jeopardising the lives of the majority Indians, to catch a minority engaged in black money and illegal transactions.
 
The NFF and the NAPM will be taking forward their struggles on these issues with further discussions at the NFF General Body in Tuticorin (December 9 and 10, 2016) and the NAPM National Convention in Patna (December 2-4, 2016).
 
The Campaign Points are

• The NDA II Government is trying to fool the coastal people by unviable projects
• Sagarmala will effectively promote real estate projects
• Joint actions planned by people’s movements in the entire coastal stretch between Gujarat and West Bengal
• More than One lakh of Fishworkers to participate in the series of actions
• NFF to hold Parliament Rally onNovember 21, 2016, on World Fisheries Day
• Coastal Yatra(s0 being planned by affected people from ten coastal states
• Consultation with communities demanded, to suit legitimate development needs in coastal areas
• “Privatisation and handing over of ports to companies like Adani will threaten India’s national national security”
• Fishworkers demand withdrawal of Sagarmala project
• Government should roll back the ‘Demonetisation’ policy, which has caused immense hardships to the coastal people and is hardly offering any scientific solution to the actual black money and corruption issue

(Issued on behalf of NFF: M. Ilango (Chairperson), Narendra Patil (Gen Secretary) and T. Peter (Secretary) NAPM: Rajendra Ravi (National Convener) and Madhuresh Kumar (National Organiser)
The Sagarmala project is being heavily promoted by business newspapers and publications. The Economic Times reports that “Sagarmala envisages port led development of the country that would include establishing new transshipment port, creating dedicated coastal berths ports for coastal shipping, setting up storage capacities at origin-destination ports to shorten turnaround time and developing adequate ship-repair facilities in the maritime states. 

The government has prepared a Rs 5 lakh crore plan, including private investment, to implement the Sagarmala project. More recently, the same paper stated that, “To give a push to port-led economic development under its ambitious Sagarmala project, the government today approved incorporation of Sagarmala Development Company under the Companies Act with Rs 1,000 crore as initial authorised share capital. 

"The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the incorporation of Sagarmala Development Company (SDC) under the Companies Act, 2013," an official statement said. Government to fast-track green clearances for Sagarmala project, too.
 

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