‘Aid not reaching those who need it’
Local government representatives who help prepare the list of fishermen eligible for government assistance, perform nepotism to manipulate the list and consider the political affiliation of the applicants. In the process, many fishers are left out, claimed Mizanur Rahman Bahadur, a leader of Cox's Bazar Fishing Boat Sramik Union, at a press conference yesterday.
Fisher leaders also said many people, who do not know about fishing and have never gone anywhere near the rivers, have been provided with government food aid during the fishing ban due to the irregularities.
Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) officials also revealed the same information yesterday at the press conference in the capital's Jatiya Press Club.
"Our study found that a large number of fishermen in coastal areas remain deprived of government aid for years as their names were not included in the list," said Banasree Mitra Neogi, director (programme) of MJF.
The study was conducted in two unions -- Patharghata Sadar union and Kutubjom of Maheshkhali Upazila in Cox's Bazar -- where a total of 8,644 families of 42,896 members live.
While presenting the summary of the study, Shaikh Giasuddin Ahmed, senior programme manager of MJF, said for some 99.27 percent of the families, the sole source of earning a livelihood is fishing.
However, only 42.6 percent of them hold ID cards. while the rest were either not aware of the assistance programme or put off the list by government officials.
The study also mentioned that due to a lack of human resources, fisheries officials took help from Union Parishad under the local government.
"There is a chance to drop off many names from the list as the officials tend to include names of people well-connected to them. Some names were also dropped off from the list due to personal feuds or political identity," mentioned the study.
While thousands of fishers remain deprived of government facilities, those who can manage to access them do not enjoy the full facilities either, especially during the fishing ban periods every year.
According to the study, some 45 percent of fishermen worked as day labourers, while 15 percent failed to manage any work during the fishing ban.
During the ban, the government usually allocates a fund of 40kg of rice as an incentive for fishers who hold the government fisherman card as they are left with no other sources of income during these periods.
However, the aid is insufficient, to say the least. Moreover. most beneficiaries do not receive the full amount, found the study.
It mentioned that during the fishing ban in the sea from February to May this year, fishermen in Patharghata union were supposed to be provided with 160kg of rice in four phases.
However, they were given only 61 to 80 kilos of rice.
"We demand cash incentives, proper distribution of the allocated rice and the inclusion of fishermen under the scheme," said Mizanur Rahman Bahadur.
SM Zakir Hossain of Patharghata Jatio Sramik Federation demanded that the government establish a specialised bank for fishermen.
"A large number of fishermen took loans at high rates of interest from local well-off individuals and non-government organisations. They have to bear the brunt of the high-interest rates throughout the year as they do not earn anything during the fishing ban," he added.
MJF officials also recommended updating the list of fishermen every two years, ensuring government aid to all fishermen, introducing cash incentives of Tk 8,000, and bringing fishermen under a specialised loan system, among other measures.
Comments