Fishermen in TN yet to get paid for flood relief, rescue work

Chennai, Jan 19 (IANS) Fishermen in Tamil Nadu who had rescued people stranded during the floods in October, November 2021, are yet to receive the compensation they were promised.

Fisheries department officials, while speaking to IANS said that the compensation was delayed due to some minor glitches in tallying according to the government norms.

Owners of fishing boats who had arranged men for rescue missions along with boats are waiting for the promised compensation. M. Karuppuswamy, a fishing boat owner who had arranged and sent 31 boats for rescue operations is one among them.

While speaking to IANS, he said: "I am waiting for the compensation as the fishermen who had gone for the rescue mission is expecting money and we thought that they will settle it before Pongal but it did not happen. However I am not disappointed, the government will definitely honour the commitment soon."

While the fishing season was hit due to heavy rains and warnings from the meteorological department, the fishermen were expecting the compensation promised by the government before the Pongal.

Around 250 fishermen were deployed for the rescue operation and fisheries department sources told IANS that they were yet to sanction the amount as Greater Chennai Corporation has to transfer the compensation money which they have not.

However, Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) officials told IANS that they had paid advance money of Rs 2.5 lakh per village before the fishermen were engaged and that the rest of the amount would be paid after the final settlement bill is received from the fisheries department.

Fisheries department officials said that the bill amount is approximately around 1.25 crore and that the final payment would be dispatched to the respective district headquarters for distribution once they get a clearance from the Greater Chennai Corporation.