Medha Patkar flags off boat rally from Mangaluru for fishermen's cause

[email protected] (CD Network, Photos by Suresh)
November 21, 2014

Mangaluru, Nov 21: Activist and Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar on Friday flagged off a boat rally from Mangaluru to Thiruvananthapuram at Bunder, here, aimed at protection of sea, coast, inland water bodies and fisheries resources.

The rally is being organised in association with National Fishworkers Forum in Karnataka and Kerala. The campaign will witness a series of public meetings along the west coast, culminating in a national conference in Thiruvananthapuram on November 30.

Speaking during the launch of rally, Ms Patkar said that consequent governments have failed fulfill the needs of fishing communities, despite their struggle and commitment.

She also lamented that even though UPA government had formed Murari Commission' its report was sidelined and a new committee was formed headed by Dr B. Meenakumari.

She expressed serious reservation about various aspects of report such as earmarking “200 mtr. to 500 mtr. depth buffer zone (where Indian fishermen will be prevented from fishing), encouraging foreign staff in Indian vessels and allowing foreign fishing vessels in our waters.

The seven-member Meenakumari Committee had submitted its report in August and its recommendations included deploying 1,178 deep-sea vessels including existing ones, and an additional 270 vessels comprising 240 tuna long-liners, 15 squid jiggers and 15 purseiner boats in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Earlier, National Fishworkers Forum vice-president Vasudev Boloor said as Prime Minister Narendra Modi had, before the Lok Sabha elections, promised a lot to the fishing community, including consideration of creation of a separate Ministry for Fisheries, but the first budget of the NDA government was a total disappointment for the sector.

National Fishworkers Forum secretary T. Peter said coastal areas were being given to tourism and power industries while the rights of the fisherfolk were being curtailed.

Foreign vessels were being allowed to fish in Indian waters, adversely affecting the interests of local fishing communities.

The government should reject the recommendations of an expert committee to allow joint ventures with foreign vessels to fish in Buffer Zone (where sea water is 200 ft to 300 ft deep). Instead, Indian fishing community should be encouraged to operate in the zone adopting modern technology, he said.

Mr. Boloor said a march to New Delhi would be organised later to pressurise the Union government to heed to the demands of fishermen. He sought measures to ensure that boat owners got adequate supply of subsidised kerosene with road tax exempted.

No boat owner was able to receive subsidised kerosene because it was reserved for the below poverty line card holders. “Tell me, will a mechanised boat owner have a BPL card?” he said. More details awaited.

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News Network
March 15,2024

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Bengaluru, Mar 15: Former Karnataka chief minister and senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act on Thursday for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor at his residence in Bengaluru last month.

Yediyurappa, 81, was booked after a woman lodged a complaint saying that she visited his residence on February 2 seeking justice in a rape case against her daughter and sought that a special investigation team (SIT) be formed to look into the case.

According to the first information report (FIR), Yediyurappa allegedly took the minor to a room, closed the door and sexually assaulted her. The woman further alleged in the FIR that when she confronted Yediyurappa, he said that he was checking if the girl was raped or not. Yediyurappa later allegedly apologised and asked the woman not to reveal the matter to anyone.

The Sadashivanagar police in Bengaluru have registered a case under Section 8 (commit sexual assault) of the Pocso Act and Section 354 (a) (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Reacting to the allegations, the former CM said that around one-and-a-half months ago, they (the victim and her mother) had come to his house seeking help and he had taken them inside. 

“After listening to her, I called the city police commissioner B Dayananda over phone seeking to address her problem. Later, they spoke against me and I then suspected that there is some health problem with her. I sent them to city police commissioner’s office. I even gave her some money as they were in distress. I came to know that an FIR has been registered and will look into it. But this is what I get for helping someone,” he added.

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News Network
March 14,2024

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Udupi: In a freak mishap, a 65-year-old man lost his life after being hit by his own bus which was being repaired at a garage at Athrady in Udupi district on Wednesday, March 13.

The deceased has been identified as Dayanand Shetty, the owner of a private bus.

It is learnt that the bus had been kept for repairs at the garage and Dayanand had gone there to inspect the repair works.

At this time, the mechanic started the engine and the bus moved ahead. Dayanand, who was standing in front of the bus, came under its wheels.

He was immediately rushed to a hospital where he died without responding to the treatment. A case is registered at jurisdictional Manipal police station.

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News Network
March 27,2024

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At least seven people have been killed when Israeli warplanes bombed an emergency center in southern Lebanon near the border with the 1948 Israeli-occupied territories with air-to-surface missiles, according to Lebanese security sources.

Two sources, speaking on condition of anonymity said early on Wednesday that the strike targeted the Islamic Group’s emergency and relief center in Lebanon’s southern village of Habbariyeh.

Jamaa Islamiya, a Lebanese group closely linked to the Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, said in a statement that “a number” of people had been killed, and called the strike a “heinous crime.”

An official from the group said “seven rescuers” were killed in the aerial assault.

Another Jamaa Islamiya official, also requesting anonymity, said a dozen medical staff were in the emergency center at the time of the strike, adding that bodies were being pulled from the rubble.

Lebanese lawmaker Hassan Mrad said “the Israeli aggression on Habbariyeh adds to the long list of Israeli crimes.”

Israel has been launching air strikes against Lebanon since the beginning of its onslaught against the Gaza Strip in early October.

An Israeli strike knocked down part of a building in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh on February 14, killing seven members of the same family, including a child, Lebanon’s official National News Agency said. A boy initially reported missing was found alive under the rubble.

In a separate Israeli attack, a woman and her two children were killed in the village of as-Sawana in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli regime launched its devastating hostilities in the Gaza Strip on October 7 after the territory’s Hamas-led Palestinian resistance groups carried out a surprise retaliatory attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the occupying entity.

Israel's raids have resulted in retaliatory strikes from Hezbollah in support of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

The movement has vowed to keep up its retaliatory operations as long as the Tel Aviv regime continues its onslaught on Gaza.

The Israeli campaign in Gaza has killed at least 32,414 people, most of them women and children. Another 74,787 individuals have also been wounded.

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