₹27.19 Cr Fishing Ban Relief Credited to 13,597 Fisher Families in Vizag
District Collector M. Abhishikth Kishore on Tuesday said the Andhra Pradesh government has credited ₹27.19 crore directly into the bank accounts of 13,597 beneficiaries in Visakhapatnam district under the fishing ban relief scheme.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu took part in the ‘Matsyakarula Sevalo’ programme held at Kavali in Nellore district, while the district-level proceedings were attended virtually from the Collectorate by Collector Abhishikth Kishore, Joint Collector G. Vidhyadhari, and MLAs Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu and Vamsi Krishna Yadav.
During the programme, a mega cheque of ₹27.19 crore was symbolically presented towards the fishing ban compensation.
The Collector said each eligible fisher family received ₹20,000 to support livelihoods during the annual fishing ban period. He noted that around 1,500 additional beneficiaries had been included this year compared to the previous year.
He also said the livelihood assistance scheme, which earlier covered six crew members per mechanised fishing boat, has now been expanded to include eight to 10 members per vessel.
Efforts are being made to identify and include all eligible fisherfolk who were left out of the scheme, he added.
Joint Director of Fisheries Lakshmana Rao, boat owners, and several fisherfolk participated in the programme.