Goa boat owners oppose Rs 25 lakh death compensation policy

PANAJI: Chief minister Pramod Sawant’s decision to direct boat owners to give Rs 25 lakh financial compensation to families of labourers who die on duty has sparked strong objections from the fishing community.

The Cutbona boat owners argued that the compensation amount is exorbitant and it could lead to unintended consequences, such as deliberate attempts at self-harm among labourers seeking financial gain for their families.

Patrick D’Silva, chairman of the Cutbona Boat Owners Society, criticised the decision, stating, “Rs 25 lakh is totally unexpected. Many of us have taken loans to run our boats and are struggling to recover our investments. This new requirement is financially unfeasible.”

“What if our labourers from Odisha circulate messages in their hometown about this? Those who need the money might deliberately plunge into the sea to end their lives to secure the Rs 25 lakh for their families,” said boat owner Mahendra Zuwarkar.

“Instead, govt should allocate Rs 25 lakh to boat owners and an additional Rs 25 lakh to the labourers’ families because both are financially struggling,” he added.

The backlash comes in the wake of Sawant’s visit to the jetty premises after the cholera outbreak that led to the deaths of five fish workers at Mobor and Cutbona.

He directed the boat owners to pay Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased and said that govt would pay Rs 5 lakh from the corpus fund. He also said that boat owners are liable to pay Rs 25 lakh in the future in case of a worker’s death.

“A person’s health is unpredictable, and adverse conditions at sea have their risks. In our insurance scheme, we receive only Rs 2-5 lakh under PMSSY. Many small fishermen’s boats are valued at less than Rs 25 lakh. It’s simply not feasible for us to give compensation of Rs 25 lakh,” a boat owner said.

The boat owners also demanded a sub-health centre at the Cutbona jetty since the directorate of health services only visits in the morning to conduct sample tests. They have also demanded the utilisation of the new jetty, completed in 2018-2019, where many boats are lying idle.

“We want the idle boats to be auctioned, unauthorised structures demolished, and debris cleared to mitigate health hazards. The fisheries department was negligent in controlling the dengue spread, and action must be taken by them,” they said.