PANAJI
Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott welcomes the government's decision to relieve Fisheries Director Shamila Monterio. GRE Vice President Camilo Souza stated that Monterio should be suspended from all posts including the post of Member Secretary of the Goa Pollution Board. An enquiry of a retired judge should be initiated by the government to look into her gross misconduct, gross negligence, and corruption which has not only destroyed the fishing community of Goa but has killed the lives of several fishermen from neighbouring states, according to a GRE press release.
Francisco Braganza, member of GRE stated that the fisheries director has no right to be in any position as she had filed an affidavit In the High Court of Bombay at Goa to advocate the use of generator/GD sets of 60 to 150kva capacity which clearly showed her nexus with the LED light operators as for 8 years she did not implement the ban on LED light fishing in Goa, the press release adds.
Olencio Simoes, GRE general secretary stated that it is a great shame that Goa's name had to be dragged for all wrong reasons international as well as nationally as the World Forum of Fishers People (WFFP) Secretary General Herman Kumara from Srilanka had to appeal to the state government to ban the LED light fishing along with Leo Colaco, Chairperson of National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) of Maharashtra.
Simoes stated that every country in the world brings maximum regulation to protect the marine resources but sadly the fisheries department of Goa was all out to destroy the fishers of Goa as well as India. GRE has demanded that LED light fishing and generators along with high-speed engines and bull trawling should be banned completely and the Government appoint a sincere and fishermen-centric new director of fisheries.
