Dharam Shourie

New York: A UN agency dedicated to eliminating rural poverty and hunger has announced that it is stepping up its financial backing to coastal fishing communities in southern India, which are still struggling to rebuild after the deadly tsunami struck the region in 2004.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) said in a statement that it has loaned an extra $15 million to the Indian Government as part of a broader $68.5 million programme to improve conditions in Tamil Nadu state.

The agreement for the additional loan was signed in Rome by IFAD President Lennart Bege and India's Ambassador to Italy, Rajiv Dogra. Under the programme, local fishing communities will have access to insurance services and social security, while destructive fishing gear and practices will be phased out and new technologies for packing, processing and selling fish will be introduced. New fish auction halls, sheds, drying platforms and waste disposal facilities will also be built to assist about 50 village fish marketing associations sell their stocks and receive better prices.

IFAD says that training is being provided, mainly to young people, in skills such as house and boat-building to ensure there are job opportunities in fields other than fishing.

The tsunami in December 2004 destroyed the livelihoods of an estimated 174,000 people in Tamil Nadu. While some communities have been able to recover, others, including scheduled castes and tribes, poor farmers, and women processors and sellers of fish, are still struggling.

IFAD's country manager for India, Mattia Prayer-Galletti, noted that fishing is one of the most dangerous occupations in the region, with at least 1,000 people killed in Tamil Nadu each year. "Insurance for the fishers themselves and their equipment makes them less vulnerable to disaster and increases their capacity to cope," he said.

Source : PTI