Odisha fishermen recall Manmohan Singh’s balm for livelihood loss

KENDRAPARA: Even as the nation mourned the demise of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, seaside villages of Kendrapara district, far away from the media glare, quietly grieved loss of the man whose policies helped mitigate the pain of marine fishermen in turtle zones of Gahirmatha marine sanctuary.

After meeting a delegation of fishermen in 2005, the UPA government had directed the state to formulate policies to help fishermen during the seven-month-long fishing ban period. The state government launched alternative livelihoods of the fishermen and after a few years, started providing compensation to them during the fishing ban period.

“The news that Manmohan Singh is no more was shocking. We had met him along with three fishermen of our areas, CPM state secretary Janardhan Pati and MP Basudeb Acharia on November 27, 2004,” recalled Arjun Mandal of Batighar