Kakinada: Demand mounts for withdrawal of GO 217

Kakinada: TDP senior leader and former MLA Vanamadi Venkateswar Rao (Kondababu) demanded that the government withdraw GO No 217 and restore full fishing rights on tanks, canals and reservoirs to the fishermen societies in the State.

Fishermen staged a protest in front of the Collectorate on Monday under the auspices of the Fishermen Ikya Karyacharana Samiti demanding the abolition of the online auction through GO 217 for ponds, tanks and canals. They raised slogans against the government to abolish the Go 217 immediately.

Kondababu lambasted the government for adversely impacting the livelihood of fishermen through the GO. He said that the fishermen community has lost its traditional rights of fishing in rivers and sea because of the GO.

He said that in the TDP regime, they provided fibre boats, nets, engines and other facilities on subsidy to improve the living standards of fishermen. But now the YSRCP government was turning fishermen into daily wage labourers.

Fishermen Ikya Karyacharana Samiti convener A Satyanarayana alleged that the decision of the State government was to plunder the livelihoods of the fishermen who depend on rivers, reservoirs, ponds and ditches for their livelihood only to benefit the YSRCP leaders.