Forced to pay higher industrial rates for petrol, fishing cooperatives warn they can’t afford to continue operations
Consumers too might find that their daily fish purchase will get more expensive if fishing cooperatives stop their operations in the coming days due to the fuel challenges. file pic/NIMESH DAVE
War clouds have now cast a shadow over the fishing community. The Akhil Maharashtra Machhimar Kriti Samiti (AMMKS) has issued an urgent appeal to the central and Maharashtra government to intervene in the mounting fuel pricing crisis that threatens to anchor the state’s fishing fleet indefinitely.
Devendra Damodar Tandel, AMMKS president, said, “Following the escalation of the Iran-Israel conflict… while retail prices at petrol pumps remain stable for the general public at approximately Rs 90.03 per litre, the price for fisheries co-operative societies has skyrocketed to over r112 per litre. Because fishing co-operatives are technically classified as ‘bulk consumers’, they are currently facing a surcharge of over Rs 22 per litre.”
“It is a cruel irony that a luxury car owner can fuel up for r90, while a traditional fisherman, who provides food security to the nation, is forced to pay Rs 112 through his co-operative society,” he said, adding that this was a direct blow to the livelihood of 3.6 lakh fishermen in Maharashtra. The AMMKS represents all coastal districts of Maharashtra from Palghar to Sindhudurg.
Bernard Demello, working president of AMMKS, said this was like a repeat of the 2022 crisis during the Russia-Ukraine war. “At that time, a formal representation was made to then-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, requesting the creation of a ‘third categorFuel price hike leaves fisherfolk high and dryy’ for the primary sector [fishing and farming] to decouple them from industrial bulk pricing. But nothing happened.”
“If the government does not act immediately, the fishing industry in Maharashtra will be forced into a total shutdown,” warned Pradeep Tapke, vice-president of AMMKS. Tandel added that the government has taken a decision to classify fishermen’s cooperative societies under the ‘retail’ category. An official announcement is expected shortly.
List of demands
1) Immediate removal of fisheries from the “Bulk/Industrial” category
2) Fuel price protection for the industry
3) Granting agriculture status to fisheries
Rs 90.03
Per-litre price of petrol for general publica
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