Fillip for fishermen in North

by Ananth PALAKIDNAR

Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Felix Perera has announced wide ranging measures to uplift the living conditions of fishermen in the North who had been affected for three decades in the region, until the fishing restrictions in the North were lifted recently.

The Minister who visited Jaffna on Thursday met members of the Fishermen's Associations in the peninsula at the Veerasingham Hall in Jaffna.

Over 600 members of the Fishermen's Associations in the North participated in the meeting where they expressed their gratitude to the Government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa for lifting the fishing restrictions.

Minister of Social Services Douglas Devananda was also present. Minister Felix Perera assured the Jaffna fishermen that he would expedite the process of providing them with relief measures such as fresh loan assistance and new fishing gear. Earlier, the Northern fishermen presented a memorandum to the Minister highlighting their difficulties.

They called upon the Minister to assist them with regard to deep sea fishing.

The Minister said that he would take steps to attend to the needs of the fisherfolk in the North.

Meanwhile, two refrigerator trucks to transport sea food from the North to the South were flagged off by Minister of Social Services at a ceremony in Jaffna in the presence of the Fisheries Minister yesterday.

The two freezer trucks carried the first loads of sea food to the south and seven freezer trucks are expected to be put into operation between the North and South in the following weeks, sources said.

Minister of Trade, Commerce, Consumer Affairs and Marketing Development Bandula Gunawardena, Minister of Indigenous Medicine Tissa Karaliyadde, Deputy Minister of Power and Energy Mahindananda Aluthgamage also visited Jaffna and made observations on their areas.Minister Bandula Gunawardena opened a new CWE storage department at the Windsor Hall, Jaffna.

He also discussed the revival of the cooperative societies in the North. Several members of the Traders' Association of Jaffna and representatives of the farming community also met the Minister.Minister Tissa Karaliyadde visited the Ayurvedic institution in Jaffna and later paid a visit to the Siddha - Ayurveda Hospital at Kaithady, Jaffna.

Re-organising the indigenous higher studies, the cultivation of herbal items and reconstructing indigenous medical centres in the north were also discussed.